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An analytical study of Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’an that seeks to

explain the reality of a mysterious European Jewish-Christian

alliance that is waging unjust war on Islam and oppressing

Muslims while pursuing a sinister global agenda on behalf of the

Euro-Jewish State of Israel.

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Ansari Memorial Series

Internet Edition http://www.imranhosein.org

1

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Khidr said to Moses, “Surely you would not be able to show patience with me. Indeed, how can you show patience in respect of that which lies beyond your comprehension (since you can temporarily see with only one eye, and consequently can access only external empirical knowledge)?” (Sūrah al-Kahf, 18:66-67)

Those like Dajjāl, who see with one eye, can never be patient enough to learn from those like Khidr, who see with two eyes, i.e ., the external and the internal. Dajjal’s epistemological attack on mankind renders them internally blind and, hence, easily deceived by ‘external appearance’ while remaining incapable of penetrating ‘internal reality’ in all that pertains to his mysterious mission. They sometimes lose faith in Allah Most High and become profoundly misguided without being even conscious of such. Nearly always, however, they lack the capacity to understand either the movement of history or the role that Jerusalem and the Holy Land play in the End of History. The Qur’an declares of such people that they have a status akin to “cattle”.

Abū Darda reported that Allah’s Messenger said, “If anyone memorizes the first ten

verses of Sūrah al-Kahf, he would be protected from Dajjāl.” (Sahīh Muslim)

“He who among you will survive to see him (Dajjāl) should recite over him the

opening verses of Sūrah al-Kahf.” (Sahīh Muslim)

“He who recites three verses at the beginning of al-Kahf would be protected from the

trial of the Dajjāl.” (Tirmīdhi)

Abu Sa’īd al-Khudri reports that the Prophet said: “Whoever recites Sūrah al-Kahf on

Jum'ah (i.e., ‘Friday’ of the pagan world) would have illumination from the light (of

the Sūrah) from one Jum'ah to the next.” (Nasā’i, Baihaqī, Hākim)



2

Copyright © Imran N. Hosein

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Website: www.imranhosein.org

2007 / 1428

Published by Masjid Jāmi’ah, City of San Fernando. 70, Mucurapo Street, San Fernando Trin idad and Tobago

Print Version distributed by

Al Tasneem Sdn Bhd (630802-X)

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Cover Design – Print edition

Bounce Graphics – Email: [email protected]

Cover Design and Layout – Internet Edition

Mogamat Abrahams – [email protected]

Freely distributed in electronic format, may not be sold.



3

For my beloved wife Aisha Who sees with two eyes

I built a house for her here on earth May Allah Most Kind build for her

one in heaven. Āmīn!



4

CONTENTS


Preface

Chapter One Introduction

Chapter Two The Qur’ān and Time

Chapter Three The Sūrah and the Sunnah

Chapter Four Historical background of the revelation of

Sūrah al-Kahf

Chapter Five The Story of the Young Men and the Cave

Chapter Six The Parable of Two Men – One Rich and the

other Poor

Chapter Seven The Parable of Moses and Khidr

Chapter Eight The Story of Dhūl Qarnain

Chapter Nine The Beginning of Sūrah al-Kahf

Chapter Ten The End of Sūrah al-Kahf

Appendix 1 The Epistemological importance of Dreams in

Islam



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ANSĀRI MEMORIAL SERIES

The Ansāri Memorial Series is published in honor of the

distinguished Islamic scholar, philosopher and Sūfi Shaikh, Maulāna

Dr. Muhammad Fadlur Rahmān Ansāri (1914–1974). Publication of

the Series began in 1997 to commemorate his 25th death anniversary.

Maulāna Ansāri was an Islamic scholar, a teacher and a spiritual

guide who spent his entire life struggling in the sacred cause of Islām

in what had become an essentially godless world. His labors in that

sacred cause took him on travels completely around the world several

times on Islamic lecture-tours in the 1950’s to 1970’s. He would leave

his new home in Karachi (having migrated from India when Pakistān

came into being in 1947) and travel west, and then return to his home

months later coming from the east.

Maulāna was a graduate of Aligarh Muslim University, India,

where he studied Philosophy and Religion. He derived his Islamic

philosophical and spiritual thought from the Islamic scholar, Dr.

Muhammad Iqbāl. Iqbāl was the author of that masterpiece of Islamic

scholarship, “The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islām.”

Maulāna Ansāri’s great work of Islamic scholarship, “The Qur’anic

Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society”, itself constituted a

response to Iqbāl’s call for “reconstruction of religious thought.”

He received his spiritual training from Maulāna ‘Abdul ‘Aleem

Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar, Sūfi Shaikh, and roving missionary of

Islām. Most important of all, he received the Sūfi epistemology from

both Iqbāl and Maulāna Siddiqui and delivered it to his students. The

Sūfi epistemology recognized that when Truth is embraced (i.e., Islām

is accepted) and is lived with sincerity and devotion to Allah Most

High, it eventually enters the heart (i.e., Islām grows into Imān). In the

Hadīth al-Qudsi it is reported that Allah Most High declared: “My

heavens and My earth are too small to contain Me, but the heart of My



6

faithful servant can contain Me.” This Hadīth vividly describes the

implications of the entry of Truth into the heart.

When Truth enters the heart, then a divine light (nūrullah) also

eventually enters, and that light permits the believer’s powers of

observation and internal intuitive spiritual insight to penetrate beyond

the ‘external’ appearances of things to reach their ‘internal’ reality. At

this stage of the growth of Truth in the heart the believer now sees

with two eyes – the ‘external’ and the ‘internal’ (Dajjāl, the False

Messiah, sees with only one eye – the ‘external’). The believer who

pursues a ‘Jihād fillah’ (i.e., a struggle ‘in’ Allah) is blessed with

growth from Imān to the stage of Ihsān. This is also known as

Tasawwuf.

It is only with inner light in the discerning heart of a true believer

that the continuously unfolding Signs of Allah (Ayātullah) can be

recognized, and only thus can the world today be read and correctly

understood. Those who perceive the reality of the world today know

that we live in the age of Fitan, i.e., the Last Age or the age of al-

Qiyāmah (which would first culminate with the end of history and the

triumph of Islam, and then, subsequently, with the end of the world

and its transformation into a new world).

Maulāna Ansāri devoted the last ten years of his life (1964–1974)

to the establishment of the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in

Karachi. He struggled at Aleemiyah to train a new generation of

scholars of Islām who would be spiritually and intellectually capable

of using the Qur’ān and Ahadīth to understand the mysterious modern

age, and to then respond appropriately to its awesome challenges. Out

of his labors emerged scholars such as Dr. Waffie Muhammad and

Imran N. Hosein (Trinidad, West Indies), Dr. Abul Fadl Mohsin

Ebrahim, Dr. Abbas Qasim (marhūm), Muhammad Ali Khan and others

(Durban, South Africa), Siddiq Ahmad Nasir, Raouf Zaman and

Muhammad Saffie (Guyana, South America), Ali Mustafa (Suriname,



7

South America), Basheer Ahmad Keeno (Mauritius), and so many

others who graduated from the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies,

Karachi, Pakistan.

The Ansāri Memorial Series consists of the following books, all

written by one of Maulānā’s students:

• Jerusalem in the Qur’ān – an Islamic View of the Destiny of

Jerusalem;

• Sūrah al-Kahf: Text Translation and Modern Commentary;

• Sūrah al-Kahf and the Modern Age;

• The Religion of Abraham and the State of Israel –– A View from the

Qur’ān;

• Signs of the Last Day in the Modern Age;

• The Importance of the Prohibition of Ribā in Islām;

• The Prohibition of Ribā in the Qur’ān and Sunnah;

• Dreams in Islām – A Window to Truth and to the Heart;

• The Caliphate, the Hejāz, and the Saudi-Wahhabi Nation-State;

• The Strategic Significance of the Fast of Ramadan, and Isrā and

M’irāj;

• One Jamā’at - One Amīr: The Organization of a Muslim Community

in the Age of Fitan.

The Series, which depict at least some of the ‘fruits’ of the ‘tree’

that was planted by the Maulāna, is devoted to an effort of

understanding the ‘reality’ of the world today, explaining it accurately,

and responding to its unprecedented challenges appropriately.

Three new books are now included in the Series. Two of them, on

Sūrah al-Kahf, form part of a proposed quartet of books on that Sūrah.

Other books on Dajjāl and on Gog and Magog would complete the

quartet, Insha Allah. The third new book in the Series is comprised of

a collection of essays on the theme of ‘Signs of the Last Day in the

Modern Age’.



8

The Series will be incomplete without a biography of that great

scholar himself – his life, his work and his thought. Work has already

commenced on that biography.

Maulāna Ansāri honored his own Shaikh, Maulāna Muhammad

‘Abdul ‘Aleem Siddiqui, by establishing the Aleemiyah Institute of

Islamic Studies in Pakistan, and by publishing the Aleemiyah

Memorial Series. The Ansāri Memorial Series represents a humble

effort to follow in that noble tradition.



9

Preface

Praise be to Allah Most High through Whose Kindness Sūrah al-

Kahf and the Modern Age is now published. May He bless this humble

work to reach Muslims in many parts of the world. May it assist them

to grow closer to the Qur’ān and to this Sūrah – especially every day

of Jum'ah when the Sūrah is to be recited for protection from the

Fitnah of Dajjāl. May it refresh their memory of the meaning of the

Sūrah and, more importantly, constantly deepen their understanding of

the Sūrah. Amīn!

As war on Islam intensifies and the time approaches when the

imposter Euro-Jewish State of Israel makes its bid to become the

ruling State in the world, and Dajjāl the false Messiah would rule the

world from Jerusalem and declare that he is the true Messiah, I fear

that there would be many who would ban books on the Qur’ān. I

therefore pray most humbly, and ask my gentle readers to also kindly

join in the prayer, that Allah Most High might protect books (such as

this humble quartet of books on Sūrah al-Kahf) that employ the

blessed Qur’ān to expose those in the godless modern age who are

waging unjust war on Islam and Muslims. Āmīn.

A mysterious Euro-world-order with a Jewish-Christian alliance

wages war on Islam on behalf of the Euro-Jewish State of Israel. If

there is any merit at all in this book it can, perhaps, be located in its

role as a very humble pioneering work that might possibly inspire

others, more competent than this writer, to a more comprehensive

effort in using this Sūrah of the Qur’ān to explain that world today.

The first volume of four, containing ‘Text Translation and

Modern Commentary of Sūrah al-Kahf’, made its appearance at the

same time as this main work on the subject entitled ‘Sūrah al-Kahf

and the Modern Age’, and was meant to function as a companion

volume to this main work. I pray that I might be able to write



10

additional volumes on this subject, Insha Allah, in order to attempt a

more comprehensive modern interpretation of the Ahadīth and

Qur’anic verses dealing (directly and indirectly) with the critically

important topics of Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, and of

Gog and Magog.

The writing of the first two books on Sūrah al-Kahf was kindly

sponsored in the names of Rabia Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura and

Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura of Malawi in Africa, Abdul Majid Kader

Sultan and Fatimah Abdullah of Malaysia, and Hajjah Haniffa Bte

Omar Khan Sourattee and Hajjah Mariam Bte Fakir Mohammed of

Singapore.

May Allah Most Kind bless them all. Āmīn!

Imran N. Hosein

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

June 2007



11

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

This book analyses and interprets Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān in

an attempt to explain the reality of the world in the modern age. It is is

written for the benefit of those who already believe in the Qur’ān as

the revealed word of the one true God. Those who do not believe in

the Qur’ān, or who reject it’s claim to be a divine revelation, are

invited to prove their claim by responding to the 1400 year-old

challenge to produce a chapter like any in the Holy Book.

We can therefore begin by directing attention to the declaration

made by the Qur’ān that its primary function is to explain all things:

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“. . . And We have sent down to thee (O Muhammad) the Book (i.e., the

Qur’ān) which exp lains all th ings . . . .”

(Qur’ān, al-Nahl, 16:89)

Muslims sometimes forget that no one can penetrate the reality of

the modern age in which we now live without explanation and

guidance provided by the Qur’ān. This remains true for globalization,

international politics, the world economy, international monetary

affairs, the increasing prosperity of those who belong to or support the

modern Euro-Jewish/Euro-Christian world-order, and the increasing

poverty and destitution of those who resist Euro-Jewish/Euro-



12

Christian rule. It remains true of the modern feminist revolution. And

it is true in respect of the return of the Jews to the Holy Land to

reclaim it as their own, the restoration of a State of Israel (in the Holy

Land some 2000 years after Allah Most High had ordained its

destruction), and the imminent assumption by Israel of the status of

‘ruling state’ of the world.

Yet he who does not grasp the reality of the world today can

never be certain that he is rightly guided, and hence cannot function as

a reliable guide for others. The predicament of Muslims today is that

most leaders do not comprehend reality, and are hence themselves

profoundly misguided. The true servants of Allah Most High, on the

other hand, who are blessed with knowledge of reality, are either

banned from teaching, or are demonized, marginalized and persecuted

to such an extent that they are unable to function as guides. Therefore

their guidance hardly ever reaches the masses of Muslims. The scholar

of Islam who now attempts with spiritual insight to interpret the

blessed Qur’ān and the Ahadīīth of Prophet Muhammad (peace and

blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) to explain today’s mysterious

world is confronted with another serious problem. His internally-blind

peers shun him, and the seriousness and integrity of his scholarship is

questioned.

This book confirms those who comprehend the reality of the

world today to be a people who have not only studied and understood

the explanation and guidance of the Qur’ān but, in particular, of Sūrah

al-Kahf of the Qur’ān, as it explains the modern age. They also

recognize that this Sūrah must be recited on every day of Jum’ah (i.e.,

Friday) for protection from the awesome tests and trials of this age.



13

This book argues that religious knowledge imparted in today’s

traditional institutions of higher Islamic learning (i.e., the Dār al-

Ulūm) is insufficient to penetrate the Qur’anic explanation of the

reality of the world today. In addition to the perennial truth delivered

through traditional religious knowledge, the scholars of Islam need to

access ‘strategic knowledge’. Such knowledge is delivered through the

medium of what the Qur’ān describes as al-Basīrah (i.e., internal

intuitive spiritual insight) and through the adoption of a critical

approach to the study of modern thought that has come from modern,

essentially godless western civilization. This is so because the

supreme challenge to Islam and to the religious way of life has come

from that civilization.

We argue that unless the scholars are blessed with spiritual

insight (in addition, of course, to knowledge that is externally

derived), unless they see with the ‘light’ of Allah, the world would

usually deceive them. This is so because it is in the very nature of

modern western civilization that ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’ are often

quite different from each other. The road to hell, for example, is

deceptively presented to appear as the road to heaven (i.e.,

industrialization, modernization, progress and prosperity) and vice

versa, exactly as prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam).

All through the history of Islam it has been the authentic Sufi

Shuyūkh (Shaikhs), more than any others, who have walked the path

which led to spiritual insight, and they, more than any other, have

succeeded in penetrating the internal reality of things. Yet we live in

an age in which the authentic Sufi Shuyūkh (Shaikhs), such as my

distinguished teacher of blessed memory, Maulāna Dr. Muhammad



14

Fazlur Rahman Ansāri (1914-1974), and his distinguished teacher and

refulgent lantern of spiritual magnetism, Maulāna Muhammad ‘Abd

al-‘Aleem Siddiqui (1892 -1954), are the target of vicious and

sustained attacks.

This book also reminds that there are those amongst mankind

whose hearts have been so sealed by Allah Most High that they can

never understand the Qur’ān:

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“And who could exceed the wickedness of he to whom his Lord-God’s

messages are conveyed, and who thereupon turns away from them, forgetting

all his accumulated (evil) deeds?

Behold, over their hearts have We laid veils that prevent them from grasping

the truths (revealed in this Qur’ān); and into their ears (We have placed)

deafness; and though you may call them to the (true) guidance (of this

Qur’ān), they will never embrace it.

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:57)

What is the Qur’anic explanation of the ‘reality’ of the age in

which we now live?

In the process of analyzing Sūrah al-Kahf we are led to the

conclusion that the world now exists in the Last Age (i.e., the age of

al-Qiyāmah), and that the dominant actors of the modern age are



15

Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, and Gog and Magog. That is a

conclusion of tremendous importance since it confirms that we now

live in an age that is deceptive, godless, oppressive, and fraught with

unprecedented dangers and peril.

Our view, and Allah Knows best, is the ‘Last Age’ began when

Allah Most High changed the direction of prayer (Qiblah) for all

believers, from Jerusalem to Makkah. The Qiblah in Jerusalem was

the sacred temple (Masjid al-Aqsā) which Prophet Solomon (alaihi al-

Salām) built, and which held a sacred rock. And the Qiblah in Makkah

was the sacred temple (Masjid al-Harām or K’abah) which Prophet

Abraham (alaihi al-Salām) built and which also held a scared stone. This

change in Qibla occurred some seventeen months after the migration

of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) (Hijrah) from Makkah

to Madina.

As a direct consequence of this change in Qiblah the world

witnessed the birth a new community (i.e., Ummah) within the

religion of Abraham (i.e., Millah) under the leadership of Prophet

Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him). This

Muslim Ummah replaced the Israelites as the new ‘chosen’

community representative of the true religion of Abraham (peace be

upon him). As a consequence of the Jewish rejection of Prophet

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) as a true Prophet of the One God,

that Israelite religious community (Banū Isrāīl) lost whatever had

remained of its validity.

The Jews were prepared to recognize Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi

wa sallam) as a Prophet sent to the Arabs. But they adamantly rejected

the claim that an Arab Prophet could be sent to those (i.e., Jews) who



16

were the “chosen people of the Lord-God”! Rather, they insisted that

none but a Jew could be sent as a Prophet over the Jews.

It was as a direct result of Jewish rejection of Prophet

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and of the Qur’ān that was

revealed to him, that Allah Most High released Dajjāl, the false

Messiah or Anti-Christ, as well as Gog and Magog into the world at

that time. And so the Last Age appropriately commenced in the

lifetime of the Last Prophet, Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and

that is the explanation for his famous declaration which he made while

holding up two of his fingers side by side with each other:

Narrated Sahl bin Sad: I saw Allah’s Apostle pointing with his index and

middle fingers, saying, “The time of my advent and the (Last) Hour are like

these two fingers. The great catastrophe will overwhelm everything. I and the

Last Day are like these two (fingers).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

No one can explain or respond to the challenges of the Last Age

without a proper insight into the subjects of Dajjāl and of Gog and

Magog. What this book demonstrates is that Sūrah al-Kahf constitutes

the key to the understanding of those subjects. Hence this Sūrah

explains the strange modern age that continues to unfold so

ominously.

The next conclusion to which we have arrived as a result of our

study of Sūrah al-Kahf is that survival of faith in Islam is not possible

unless the believers take steps to disconnect from the godless cities of

the modern age and strive to establish Islam in the remote countryside.

This was the view of the great Turkish scholar of Islam, Badiuzzamān

Saīd Nursi. The Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse Tung also had a



17

similar view concerning the methodology of his revolutionary

struggle. For our part we propose a strategy of establishing Islam at a

micro-level in remotely-located Muslim Villages where Muslim

women and children would be shielded from the oppression,

godlessness, decadence and anarchy that is overtaking the world.

The epistemologically-challenged scholars of Islam of the

modern age advocate the exactly opposite view. They claim that

Muslims have an obligation to remain a functional part of the modern

world and should follow them in establishing residence in the grand

cities of the modern age in order to play their part in guiding mankind

to the right path.

Sūrah al-Kahf, the Jews, and the Last Age

Sūrah al-Kahf has a very special link with the Jews and with the

Last Age. Every Jew and Christian should be interested in

understanding this link.

The (Jewish) Rabbis in Madina had posed three questions with

which to test Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). If he could

correctly answer the three questions it would be confirmed that he was

indeed a true Prophet. This book provides a detailed account of the

event, the three questions and their answers. The book also attempts

an analysis of those answers.

Our careful examination of the questions as well as the answers

given in the Qur’ān, reveal that the questions in themselves did not

directly target the subjects concerning which Prophet Muhammad

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was being tested. Rather the real agenda was

hidden behind the questions that were posed.



18

The questions were cunningly posed with an ultimate objective of

determining whether Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)

knew about Dajjāl and about Y’ajūj (Gog) and M’ajūj (Magog) whose

advent constituted major Signs of the Last Day.

Sūrah al-Kahf commenced with an answer to the first question in

which Dajjāl remained the unspoken target. The primary objective of

this book is to so analyze the Sūrah as to extract that guidance within

it that would help believers to deepen their understanding of Dajjāl,

and enhance their capacity to protect themselves and their families

from the Fitnah (tests and trials) of Dajjāl.

When the Sūrah responded to the second question it introduced

the subject of Y’ajūj (Gog) and M’ajūj (Magog).

Sūrah al-Kahf contains four stories, presented sometimes as

narratives and sometimes as parables. The first story about the young

men and the cave deepens our understanding of Dajjāl as well as Gog

and Magog. The second story about the rich man and the poor man is

basically pointing to Dajjāl. The third story concerning Musa (alaihi al-

Salām) and Khidr (alaihi al-Salām) is, perhaps, the most important of all

and, again, furthers our understanding of Dajjāl. Finally the fourth and

last story about the great traveler introduces and explains the subject

of Gog and Magog. This book explains these four stories and parables

of Sūrah al-Kahf.

Before we can turn to those beautiful stories and parables we

must first examine the concept of time in the Qur’ān. Unless we grasp

that subject we cannot penetrate the religious symbolism in the Qur’ān

and Ahadīth pertaining to the Last Age, nor can we understand the

dominant actors in the Last Age, namely, Dajjāl the false Messiah or



19

Anti-Christ and Gog and Magog. It is for this reason that the book

commences with the highly unusual subject of ‘The Qur’ān and

Time’.

I never could grasp, while I was a young student of Maulāna Dr.

Ansari at the Aleemiyah Institute of Islamic Studies in Karachi,

Pakistan, during the years 1964-1971, the reason he directed so much

attention and effort to teach the subject of ‘multi-dimensional time’ in

Islam. It is only now since I have discovered the tremendous link

between ‘time’ and the Signs of the Last Day that I have finally

realised the great wisdom of that teacher in what he was trying to

impart to us of this difficult subject so long ago.

Yet, not even in the Dār al-‘Ulūm or institutions of higher

Islamic learning is this subject taught any more. One of the causes for

this lies, perhaps, in the current war being waged on the spiritual heart

of Islam, i.e., Tasawwuf or al-Ihsān. In addition, many Sufis have

themselves abandoned the Sufi epistemology that recognizes the

validity of internal intuitive spiritual insight as a source of knowledge.

We have provided some evidence of this perplexing phenomenon in

our essay entitled ‘Iqbal, the Sufi Epistemology and the End of

History’ (Published in our book of essays entitled ‘Signs of the Last

Day in the Modern Age’).



20

CHAPTER TWO

THE QUR’ĀN AND TIME

The very essence of time as divinely taught in Sūrah al-Kahf of

the Qur’ān, and as interpreted in this essay, is that it is complex and

multi-dimensional. There is a multi-dimensional movement of time as

it passes through the ages. Only the faithful and righteous are

endowed with Nur (i.e., light) which gives them the capacity to

penetrate the reality of time. In a very famous Sūrah of the Qur’ān

(i.e., al-‘Asr) named after time, Allah Most Wise warns that all except

the believers would be at sea about this subject. They would be in a

state of loss because of their incapacity to fathom the subject of time

and thus to swim gracefully with the river of time as it flows to a

destination which would witness the final triumph of Truth over

falsehood (See Qur’ān, al-‘Asr, 103:1-3).

The youths in Sūrah al-Kahf thought that their 300-year long stay

in the cave lasted just a day or part of a day because every spiritual

experience and contact with the eternal transports us to a world in

which we lose track of time (i.e., the ‘here and now’ or the ‘moment’).

Whoever breaks the barrier that imprisons us in the prison of the

‘here’ and ‘now’, can experience timelessness. Only true love for

Allah Most High and sincere devotion to the religion of truth can

break the barrier of time.

This essay argues that none can understand Dajjāl, the

mastermind of the strange world today, unless he first liberates the



21

mind from the prison of the ‘here and now’ and penetrates the

different worlds of time.

All, save those who have faith in Allah Most High, remain

imprisoned in the consciousness of only one dimension of time. When

those who are devoid of faith are raised on the Last Day, veils will be

removed from their eyes so they will see with a sharpness of vision

hitherto not possible. That new sharpness of vision, in turn, would

reveal to them something of the reality of time.

The Qur’ān has described a people who would one day be forced

out of that prison of time to see the real world. Even though they may

have lived for scores of years in this life, yet after their resurrection

into a new world (which would be ghair al-ard, i.e., different from the

present order of creation; see Qur’ān, Ibrāhim, 14:48), they would

themselves be conscious of the new dimension of time into which they

have been reborn. They will then declare that the scores of years in

their previous life seem like “a day or part of a day”:

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tΠ öθu‹ ø9$# Ó‰ƒÏ‰tn ∩⊄⊄∪ ⟨

(It will be said) “You were heedless of this (Day of Judgement), now have

We removed thy veil, and sharp is thy sight this Day! (And one of the first

things that they now see with their sharp sight would be the reality of

‘time’.)”

(Qur’ān, Qāf, 50:22)



22

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óΟçFΖä. tβθßϑ n= ÷ès? ∩⊇⊇⊆∪ ⟨

He will ask (those who are doomed): “What number of years did you stay on

earth?” They will answer: “We have spent there a day or part of a day: but

ask those who (are able to) count time.” He will say: “Ye stayed not but a

litt le if ye had only known!”

(Qur’ān, al-Muminūn, 23:112-114)

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öΝ à6ΖÅ3≈ s9uρ óΟçFΖä. Ÿω tβθßϑ n=÷è s? ∩∈∉∪ ⟨

On the Day that the Hour (of reckoning) will be established the transgressors

will swear that they tarried not but an hour: thus were they used to being

deluded! But those enbued with knowledge and faith will say: “Indeed ye did

tarry within Allah's Decree to the Day of Resurrection and this is the Day of

Resurrection: but ye were not aware!”

(Qur’ān, al-Rum, 30:55-56)

These verses of the Qur’ān reveal a relationship between ‘faith’

and time such that those who possess faith would penetrate the reality

of time. The depth of penetration of that reality would be a measure of

‘faith’.



23

‘Protestant’ Islam and the concept of Time

‘Protestantism’ is a uniquely European phenomenon. It represents

a strange conception of religion bereft of its spiritual core. It thus

facilitates the emergence of a western ‘one-eyed’ epistemology that

limits knowledge to external observation while casting doubt about, or

denying the validity of knowledge internally or spiritually derived.

When that epistemology influenced Islamic thought it created a

‘Protestant’ Islam that abandoned the Islamic spiritual quest. It

eventually became a strange and curious creature that worked

overtime on behalf of Dajjāl, the false Messiah, while waging war on

the Sufis of Islam and on the use of internal intuitive spiritual insight

in the interpretation of religious symbolism.

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has explained the

subject of Dajjāl the False Messiah, or Anti-Christ, in quite some

detail. Among the things he said about Dajjāl was that:

“. . he would live on earth (after Allah Most High releases him) for a period

of forty days, one day (being) like a year, one day like a month, one day like

a week, and all h is days (i.e., all the rest of his days) like your days”.

(Narrated by al-Nawwās ibn Sama’ān and recorded in Sah īh Muslim)

Some scholars of Islam have most unfortunately been deceived,

because of the profound intellectual impact of modern Euro-Christian

and Euro-Jewish western colonial rule over the world of Islam, into

embracing a ‘Protestant’ version of Islam. As a result they see with

only ‘one’ eye, the ‘external’, and are either unwilling to, or incapable

of interpreting any sacred text pertaining to time beyond its literal

meaning. Such scholars would insist that somewhere on earth, if we



24

would only search well enough, we could find a place where a single

‘day’, as we know a ‘day’, can last for as long as a ‘year’, as we know

a ‘year’. We could also find a place where a ‘day’ can last for a

‘month’, and another for a ‘week’; and that when Allah Most High

releases him into the world, if we continue our search in those places,

we should eventually be able to locate Dajjāl.

Unfortunately the nearest that we can approach to this

explanation is at the north and south poles where we can experience

six months of continuous light and another six of continuous darkness.

But that phenomenon cannot explain the Hadīth.

The authentic Sūfi Shuyūkh (Shaikhs) of Islam have been, for

more than a thousand years, spiritual luminaries who penetrated the

very heart of the religious way of life, and like Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām),

they saw with ‘two’ eyes, i.e., the external and internal. (Imam al-

Ghazzali is one of them.) Because of the depth of faith they had

attained they were able to comprehend the reality of time.

Following the path of Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) we have applied the

Sufi epistemology of internal intuitive spiritual insight to the

interpretation of religious symbolism (t’awīl al-Ahadīth).

Consequently, we have dismissed the view that any amount of

searching at the poles, or anywhere else on earth, could result in

Dajjāl ever being located on earth. Rather, we hold the view that the

only place on earth that a believer would ever be able to see and

recognize Dajjāl in person is in the Holy Land. It would of course be

at the very end of his evil reign over the world when ‘his day’ would

be like ‘our day’ and, hence, when he would be in our dimension of

time.



25

Perhaps it is because of special divine blessings conferred upon

the Holy Land that the passage from different dimensions of time to

our time has often taken place there. This would explain why Prophet

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had to be taken to Jerusalem in

order to be raised to the Samāwāt (i.e., the seven strata of space and

time, other than our own, that Allah Most High fashioned after having

created the earth and all within it, for the benefit of mankind. See

Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:29).

But at that time Dajjāl would have successfully completed his

mission and his enigmatic ‘forty’ days on earth would be about to end.

Those who remained strangely incapable of recognizing Dajjāl at

work right here in our world, cannot function as guides for the

believers since they are themselves deceived.

But we do not deny those (Protestant) Islamic scholars the right

to keep on searching! They are also waiting for the ‘donkey’ on which

Dajjāl would ride (according to a Hadīth of the Prophet): “It would

travel as fast as the clouds and would have its ears stretched out wide.”

Also, “He (Dajjāl) would step into the ocean and the water would reach him

up to his knees.” We have used the Sufi epistemology to recognize

‘religious symbolism’ at work in these Ahadīth and to interpret that

symbolism. The symbol of the “donkey” represents modern aircraft.

And modern technology permits the depths of the ocean to be

penetrated. Thus can we understand the prophecy of Dajjāl’s “stepping

into the ocean”, etc.

Ahmadiyyah and the concept of ‘time’



26

The reader would perhaps question the relevance of this section

of the chapter. Let us therefore explain. The Ahmadiyyah Movement

is a creation of ‘Protestant’ Islam, and it is consequently incapable of

understanding the subject of time in Islam. Members of the

Ahmadiyyah movement have clung to the misguided teachings of their

founder concerning the subject of Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-

Christ, as well as the subject of the return of the true Messiah, Jesus

the son of Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him).

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyah

Movement, claimed that the prophecies of Prophet Muhammad

relating to the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary (‘alaihi

al-Salām) were fulfilled in him. If this claim of his were true (and it is

manifestly false) then he, Mirza, would have had to kill Dajjāl while

he (Mirza) was still alive, for this was the Prophet’s prophecy. Again,

the implication would be that Dajjāl would have lived his entire forty

days on earth before he was allegedly killed by the founder of the

Ahmadiyyah Movement in his alleged capacity as stand-in for Jesus,

the son of Mary.

Mirza Ghulām Ahmad died almost a century ago (from the time

of the writing of this book), but neither did he, nor did any of his

misguided followers to this day, ever attempt to interpret and explain

the ‘forty days’ of Dajjāl’s life on earth before the (false) ‘Indian’

Messiah allegedly put an end to it!

It was precisely because of incapacity to penetrate the subject of

time and the different worlds (Samāwāt) of space and time that

Ahmadiyyah adopted the position that it has concerning the Prophet’s

miraculous journey to Jerusalem and ascension into the Samāwāt

during the Isrā and M’irāj. They claim that Isrā and M’irāj was a



27

spiritual experience which did not involve any miraculous travel

through different stratas of space and time. They also deny that Jesus

was ever raised through those Samāwāt and reject belief in his return.

Rather, they hold the view that he survived the attempt of crucifixion

to travel all the way to Kashmir where his alledged grave has

conveniently been located.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was one of the many false Messiahs

(Dajjalūn kazzabūn) whose mysterious advent Prophet Muhaamad

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) prophesied. When we study Mirza and his

false teachings we acquire valuable insight with which to recognize

the footprints of Dajjāl. Herein lies the importance of the Ahmadiyyah

Movement and, hence, this section of the chapter.

Iqbāl and Asad

But Protestant Islam and Ahmadiyyah are not the only ones

misled on these two important subjects that are intimately connected

to the conception of time in Islam. Eminent scholars of Islam such as

Dr. Muhammad Iqbāl and Muhammad Asad (may Allah have mercy on

them both) were similarly epistemologically challenged on the subject of

time. In fact Iqbāl was led to the false conclusion that heaven and hell

were states rather than localities:

“Heaven and Hell are states, not localities. Their descriptions in the Qur’ān

are visual representations of an inner fact, i.e. character. Hell, in the words of

the Qur’ān, is ‘God’s kindled fire which mounts above the hearts’ - the

painful realization of one’s failure as a man. Heaven is the joy of triumph

over the forces of disintegration.”



28

(Iqbal, ‘Reconstruction of Relig ious Thought in Islam’,

Oxford University Press. London. 1934 p. 116)

Asad, on the other hand, was so convinced that Jesus (‘alaihi al-

Salām) had died, and therefore, would not return, that he publicly

proclaimed this dangerously false belief in his famous translation and

commentary of the Glorious Qur’ān (See his translation and

commentary of the following verses: al-Māidah, 5:117, and Āle

‘Imrān, 3:55).

In both instances, Iqbal as well as Asad, misunderstanding

concerning the reality of time led to profound error.

Beyond ‘literal time’

In fact, space and time are both multi-dimensional. And heaven

and hell both exist as real localities, and not just as states, in

dimensions of space and time other than the one in which we now

live. In this important chapter we attempt to explain time in a manner

that would hopefully encourage the skeptics to revisit their views on

the subject.

Allah Most High has declared that He created the entire earth in

two days, and both the heavens and the earth in six days. These could

not be ‘days’ as literally understood by us since such ‘days’ came into

being only after the creation of both the heavens and the earth:

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29

“Say: Is it that you deny Him Who created the earth in two Days? And do

you join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all) the Worlds.”

(Qur’ān, Fussilāt, 41:9)

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“Verily your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days

and is firmly established on the Throne (of authority) regulating and

governing all things. No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after His

leave (hath been obtained). This is Allah your Lord; You should serve Him.

Will you not celebrate His praises?”

(Qur’ān, Yūnus, 10:3)

That there is more to ‘time’ than that which is literally

understood is also clear from the following statement of the blessed

Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam):

“Narrated Abu Dhar: I asked, O Allah's Messenger! Which Masjid was first

built on the surface of the earth? He replied, al-Masjid al-Harām (in

Makkah). I (then) asked, which was built next? He replied, The Masjid of al-

Aqsā (in Jerusalem). I (then) asked, what was the period of time which

elapsed between the construction of the two? He said, Forty years. He added,

Wherever (you may be, and) the prayer time becomes due, perform the

prayer there, for the best thing is to do so (i.e. to offer the prayers on time).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

If we understand ‘time’ (forty years) in this Hadīth literally then

the Hadīth would be manifestly false. It requires just a little reflection



30

for one to understand that the blessed Messenger of Allah (sallalahu

‘alaihi wa sallam) was not referring in this Hadīth to a ‘year’ in the sense

of twelve lunar months. When he spoke in this Hadīth of that period

of ‘forty’ years, and when he referred in the Hadīth concerning Dajjāl,

to a ‘day’ like a ‘year’, he was not referring to a ‘year’ as we know a

‘year’.

Well then, we ask, what kind of a ‘year’ was he referring to when

he described a period of time that history has recorded as more than a

thousand years long, to be just ‘forty’ years in duration?

It is impossible for the statement concerning the 40-day lifespan

of Dajjāl on earth (or the forty years which elapsed between the

building of the two Masājid) to be understood if we limit ourselves to

our human notion of ‘time’. Such is derived from our sense perception

of ‘night’ and of ‘day’ and of the movement of the sun and the moon.

Those bound to the western epistemology cannot interpret it, though

quantum physics might shed some light on the matter. Nor can the

Ahadīth concerning Dajjāl etc., be understood by those who are

imprisoned in the literal interpretation of that which ought to be

symbolically interpreted. In fact, it is only the Sufi epistemology that

can unlock the subject of Dajjāl!

We can understand literally ‘a day (youm) which would be like

our day (youm)’. Such a ‘day’ (youm) would comprise a ‘night’ (lail)

and the following ‘day’ (nahār), in other words from ‘sunset’ to

‘sunset’. Dajjāl would be in our dimension of time, in ‘days like our

days’, when he would be at the end of his life on earth. That is quite

clear! Whoever is in our dimension of time must, it would appear, also

be in our dimension of space. This is what the historical record



31

indicates. We have no evidence in history of anyone being in our

dimension of time but not in our dimension of space. Because of

Dajjāl being in our dimension of time, as well as space, at the end of

his life on earth, it would be possible for us to see him in Jerusalem.

The question which arises is: where on earth would Dajjāl be

during the period of a ‘day like a year’, and then a ‘day like a month’

and finally, a ‘day like a week’? The second question is how long

would ‘a day like a year’ last – then ‘a day like a month’ – then, ‘a day

like a week’? This important chapter of the book attempts to respond

to those questions.

Al-Ghaib – the unseen transcendental world

Religion has always affirmed the existence of unseen

transcendental worlds which exist beyond (normal) observation and,

hence, scientific enquiry, in dimensions of space and time other than

our own (al-Ghaib), and has always required of believers that they

believe in these unseen worlds.

When Dajjāl is in a ‘day’ other than ‘our day’ it would not be

possible for us to see him (even though he would be on earth) since he

would be in a different dimension of existence in that unseen world

(al-Ghaib). This is precisely the case with Angels and Jinn who are

on earth and yet cannot be seen by human beings. The Qur’ān has

declared that there are two angels (on the shoulders of) each human

being:



32

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“But verily over you (are appointed angels) to protect you, kind and

honourable; writing down (your deeds): they know (and understand) all that

ye do.”

(Qur’ān, al-In fitār, 82:10-12)

It has further informed us that there is an evil Jinn (i.e., a Satan) who

is attached to every such human being who turns away from the Dhikr

(remembrance) of his Lord-God:

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∩⊂∉∪ ⟨

“If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (Allah) Most Gracious,

We appoint for him a Satan (i.e., a disbelieving Jinn) to be an intimate

companion to him.”

(Qur’ān, al-Zukhruf, 43:36)

Even though we cannot see those Angels and Jinn who are

around us, yet every believer believes in their existence here on earth!

Here is evidence of our belief in dimensions of existence, and, hence,

of worlds of space and time other than our own, existing alongside our

own world of space and time here on earth.

Not only do we believe in such dimensions which transcend our

normal experience, but we also have incontrovertible evidence that an

Angel can enter into our dimension and so appear in our world of



33

space and time that we can see him with our eyes. This was

demonstrated on several occasions by the Angel Gabriel (‘alaihi al-

Salām). Here is one such occasion:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattāb: My father, Umar ibn al-Khattāb,

told me: One day we were sitting in the Masjid when there appeared before

us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair ext raordinarily black. There

were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. He

eventually sat with the Apostle (peace be upon him). He knelt before h im,

placed his palms on his thighs, and (proceeded to ask five questions) . . . .

(The narrator of the Hadīth, Umar ibn al-Khattāb) said: Then he (the inquirer)

went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet) for a long while.

He then asked me: Umar, do you know who this inquirer was? I replied:

Allah and His Apostle know best. He (the Holy Prophet) remarked: He was

Gabriel (the Angel). He came to you in order to instruct you in matters of

religion.

(Sahīh Muslim)

This event qualifies as, perhaps, the most amazing occasion in

history in which an angel assumed human form while entering into the

dimension of space and time in which human beings exist, hence

becoming visible and tangible to them.

A Jinn can also assume human form and enter into the human

world of space and time. The most famous incident of such was the

appearance of Iblīs (i.e., Satan) in the person of an old Arab man, at

the gathering assembled by the Quraish to formulate policy which

would solve the problem caused by Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam):

“Satan (i.e ., Iblīs) himself greeted them at the door of their meet ing-place in

the guise of an aged sheikh, dressed in a cloak. When they asked him who he



34

was, he replied: ‘A sheikh who has heard of your intended discussion and has

come to listen to what you say; and perhaps my opinion and advice will not

be lost upon you.’ So he entered with them.” (Ibn Ishaq, Sīrat Rasūl Allah, Tr. By Alfred Guillaume, Ox. Univ. Press.

1955 p. 221)

Now, can we use authoritative sources to explain the existence of

dimensions of time other than our own? Can we explain ‘a day like a

year’?

Since the Qur’ān declares of itself that it explains all things

(Qur’ān, al-Nahl, 16:89), the implication is that it must explain those

statements of the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) which are

beyond normal human understanding. Our purpose in this essay is to

turn to the Qur’ān in an effort to locate the explanation of this

enigmatic Hadīth concerning the 40-day lifespan (on earth) of Dajjāl,

the False Messiah.

‘Time’ existed when we did not

Islam has taught that there was a time when mankind did not exist

and that all of mankind was created as an act of divine grace at a

moment in time; thus time pre-existed mankind. Islam has also taught

that a time would come when everything would perish and only the

divine countenance would remain. (Qur’ān, al-Rahmān, 55:26-7); hence

time would continue to exist even when mankind no longer exists.

Consider the following verse:

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∩⊇∪ ⟨



35

“Has there not been over Man a long period of time when he was not a thing

of which mention could be made (i.e., non-existent)?”

(Qur’ān, al-Dahr, 76:1)

Secondly, Islam has taught that mankind was originally created

and placed in al-Jannah (paradise) in a dimension of time other than

the biological time in which we are now located and in which we grow

old. And it was in consequence of an act of disobedience of a divine

command that mankind was expelled from that dimension of time and

placed temporarily in this dimension of time in which we now exist.

The implication is that while mankind possesses a reality that is

dependent on time, time possesses a reality that is independent of

mankind. What is the reality of time? Allah Most High has declared of

Himself that He is time:

Narrated Abu Hurairah : Allah’s Apostle said, Allah said, “The offspring of

Adam abuse Dahr (Time), and I am Dahr (Time); in My Hands are the night

and the day!”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Sacred ‘time’ and the modern godless age

It is a basic characteristic of the modern godless age that it uses

every possible trick to try to destroy the harmonious natural link

between time and life as ordained in Islam, the one true religion. It

thus seeks to corrupt our perception of time as well as our capacity to

measure time in any other than a mechanical way. In fact that godless

age seeks to replace our natural sacred conception of time with a

secular conception of time.

The modern godless Euro-Christian and Euro-Jewish age has, for

example, renamed all twelve months of the year, from ‘January’ to



36

‘December’, and all seven days of the week, from ‘Sunday’ to

‘Saturday’, with the names of pagan European gods and goddesses.

That did not occur by accident. It has nevertheless escaped the

attention of modern Islamic scholarship.

Also, a day no longer ends with the spectacular and dramatic

event of sunset, as it naturally does. Instead, it now ends at midnight

and a new day consequently begins at that totally irrelevant,

inconsequential and meaningless moment in time when the

overwhelming majority of people are asleep.

A new month no longer begins and a previous month ends as

nature has ordained, with the excitement and the incomparable

splendor and beauty of a slender new moon gracefully adorning the

sky just after sunset. Rather, the length of each month was arbitrarily

determined by a European Pope. Some months were arbitrarily

assigned 30 days, and others stuffed with 31, while hapless February

suffered the abiding embarrassment of being sometimes this (i.e., 28

days) and sometimes that (i.e., 29 days).

Even a day is no longer divided into parts that bear some

relationship to the movement of the sun, as in the passage from false

dawn to true dawn, to sparkling early morning light, to the bright light

of the day, and then to the declining sun, fading light, and to twilight,

moonlight, starlight, darknight and intense darkness, etc. Rather a

mechanical passage of time is now regulated through the entirely

arbitrary division of a day and night into 24 equal parts called hours,

and each hour into 60 equal parts called minutes, etc. A misplaced

sense of convenience and a quest for the efficient exploitation of time

for mundane purposes took precedence over that sacred precise

passage of a day.



37

Sacred time functioned as a strategically important system of

signs and symbols beckoning the human soul to the world of the

sacred. Sacred time thus helped us to produce sages. The

secularization and consequent mechanization of time broke those links

with the world of the sacred and confined the importance of time to its

functional material worldly utility.

It is also no accident that the cemeteries of modern cities are

located far outside those cities and towns. The hidden purpose is to

imprison the mind and heart in the life of this world and, in the

process, to cause us forget about death, about life beyond death and,

consequently, about other dimensions of time.

Television and the rest of the news media are used to manipulate

news and events in such wise as to imprison mankind in the tyranny of

the ‘moment’. Images and stories flash across the television screen

with a rapidity that distorts, reduces and eventually destroys the

mind’s capacity to ponder and reflect. Most people are hence reduced

to living mindlessly, day-to-day and moment-to-moment. Yesterday

fades away and no longer impacts on the consciousness. Tomorrow is

but an extension of today’s fantasies.

The entirely predictable consequence has been that people have

lost the capacity to connect the past with the present. Nor can they

anticipate a future that would add up to make a meaningful whole.

They cannot read and understand the movement of history. They are

not even conscious of the movement of time in history. Hence they

cannot recognize, nor understand, a mysteriously unfolding imperial

agenda in the Holy Land, as well as in the world at large, that a

strange Euro-Christian and Euro-Jewish alliance has been pursuing for

centuries.



38

That agenda is about to culminate with the Euro-Jewish State of

Israel emerging as the third and last ruling State in the world, and with

someone ruling the world from Jerusalem and declaring himself to be

the true Messiah. That is the ultimate deception! Yet the modern age

has mysteriously succeeded, and amazingly so, in pursuading so many

in the world of Islam to slavishly imitate and follow that strange Euro-

Christian and Euro-Jewish alliance’s modern western civilization

down into the proverbial lizard’s hole.

‘Time’ and Signs of the Last Day

True religion exists when ‘truth’ penetrates and then resides in

the heart. The manner in which we measure the passage of time is a

matter of great importance indeed since it reveals the kind of heart a

person has. Among the Signs of the Last Day as disclosed by Prophet

Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is that:

“Time would move faster, so that a whole year would pass like a month, a

month would pass like a week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an

hour like the amount of time it takes to kindle a fire .” (Narrated by Anas ibn Malik and transmitted in the Sunan of Tirmīdhī)

He explained that the perception of time moving faster would be

in consequence of the ‘remembrance’ of Allah Most High (Dhikr)

departing from the heart, and a preoccupation with the worldly life

(Dunyah) taking exclusive possession of the heart. Such hearts would

not be bothered in the least with such things as Dhikr i.e., the

‘remembrance’ of Allah Most High.

What is ‘remembrance’? When a man visits in his heart the

woman that he loves, he shudders as an enchanting fragrance envelops



39

his heart. It happens every time! When he hears her name mentioned,

the same thing happens. That is ‘remembrance’.

Clearly ‘remembrance’ is only possible when there is true love.

And so it is really when love of Allah Most High departs from the

heart that ‘time’ moves faster and yet faster. Hence it follows that

when sincere love for Allah Most High takes possession of the heart,

time would surely move slower and a believer would interact with the

passage of time in life in a manner that would be meaningful and

beneficial.

These hapless people who are imprisoned in a world of ever-

fleeting time are paying the price of being further trapped in the

fleeting moment and hence the ‘here’ and ‘now’. They will never be

able to read and understand the passage of time or the movement of

time in history. They will thus be taken for a ride and remain totally

heedless of their pathetic state as they fall into a bottomless pit.

The consequence of spiritual vacuum in the Last Age would be

moral collapse to such an extent that:

“. . people would make business agreements with one another and scarcely

anyone would fulfill h is trust”.

The spiritual vacuum and moral collapse would so incapacitate

judgment as to render people incapable of distinguishing men of

integrity from charlatans:

“. . it would be said that among such and such a tribe there is a trustworthy

man. People would remark how intelligent, excellent and resolute a man he is

while (in fact) he would not have as much faith (in Allah) in his heart as a

grain of a mustard seed.”



40

(Both quotes above taken from a Hadīth narrated by Hudhaifa and transmitted in the Sahīh o f Bukhāri as well as Muslim.)

The blessed Prophet also warned that such would be a time of

great betrayals in which:

“Temptations would be presented to men’s hearts as a reed mat is woven

stick by stick, and any heart which is impregnated by them would have a

black mark put in it . The result would be that hearts would be of two kinds:

one, white like a white stone, which would not be harmed by temptation as

long as the heavens and earth endure, and the other, black and dust-colored

like a vessel which is upset, incapable of recognizing what is reputable, or

rejecting what is disreputable, but being enveloped by its passion.”

(Narrated by Hudhaifa and transmitted in the Sahīh of Muslim.)

There can be no doubt whatsoever that this so-called age of

‘progress’ is, indeed, the age when these signs of the Last Day have

appeared.

This is the age of secularism. Even the state is secular, and so too

politics, the economy, education, the market, the media, sports, and

entertainment. The dining room, living room and even bedroom are

today also secularized. Secularism begins by ‘excluding God’, and

culminates by ‘denying Him’! When knowledge is secularized it leads

to the belief that knowledge comes from only one source, i.e., external

observation and rational enquiry. The implication of the adoption of

this epistemology is the inevitable conclusion that since this material

world is the only world we can ever ‘know’ in this way, it follows that

this is the only world that really ‘exists’.

Thus it is secularism leads to materialism, i.e., the acceptance, for

all practical purposes, that there is no reality beyond material reality,



41

and hence, that there are no other dimensions of time other than this

world of time in which we exist. Materialism has led, naturally so, to

greed, lies, promiscuity, injustice, oppression, godlessness, and great

betrayals since the moral foundations of society cannot be sustained

without the spiritual heart of religion. That heart can neither be built,

nor sustained, without belief in transcendental verities (such as God,

Angels, heaven and hell) that exist in a world beyond the material

world. Even the passage of life through time can easily become

meaningless when no other time exists than ‘here’ and ‘now’, and no

other world exists other than this.

The integration of life with ‘time’

The counting of the passage of years is a matter of great import.

How a person counts the passage of time determines who he is! “Tell

me how you count the passing years and I will tell you who you are!”

Omar Khayyam lamented the passage of the years:

“Whether in Nishapur or in Babylon,

Whether the cup with sweet or bitter run,

The wine of life keeps oozing drop by drop,

The leaves of life keep falling one by one!”

(Rubaiyyat)

But the passage of time provokes a quite different response in the

heart which possesses faith in Allah Most High, and in a life that is

positively integrated with the movement of time! It provides a means

for the believing woman, for example, to interact positively and

harmoniously with her passing years.



42

Anyone with a personality that is sufficiently developed

aesthetically to appreciate beauty would agree that nothing in the

heavens above can compare in beauty with the sight of the new

crescent moon and star joined together in an enchanting embrace. The

passage of a new lunar month in the sky above symbolizes the passage

of life itself.

Thus it is that when a baby-girl was born it was as though a new

moon had appeared in the sky and that a new world had come into

being. Everyone adored her. Everyone took her in their loving arms.

She crawled - she walked - she played - she laughed - she sang - she

danced. She had narry a care in the world as she playfully traversed

the springtime of her childhood and youth. She was a miracle to

behold.

Then she blushed with shyness as she welcomed her summertime

when she bloomed and blossomed into a woman more beautiful than a

raindrop on a rainbow that falls gently upon a rose petal. The world

gazed in wonder at her beauty and from their lips came the words:

Subhan Allah! The singers sang of her, the poets composed verses

about her. And this, also, was a miracle to behold.

And then autumn overtook her as the green leaves of her life

began to turn to brown. Wrinkles appeared around her eyes and here

and there a strand of her hair turned to grey.

Finally her winter arrived when the moon returned like an old dry

withered branch of a date palm (Qur’ān, Yāsīn, 36:39) and she made

ready to gracefully fold her tent, to say goodbye, and to disappear into

the darkness of the night.



43

But she was so full of gratitude to Allah Most High all through

the journey of life through time. When she had her season of spring

she thanked Him for it, and so too her summer and then her autumn

and finally her winter. She had no sorrow over the arrival of autumn

or winter. She was proud of her grey hairs when they began to mingle

with the natural color of her hair. Not for anything that the world

could offer did she ever wish to return to her spring or summer for she

loved her autumn and her winter just as much. And so she aged

gracefully.

The older she grew the more beauty she radiated – an external

expression of inner beauty. And when the time came for the angel of

death to take her away, when it was time for the moon to disappear

into the darkness of the sky and for the dark night to envelop the

world, there were no regrets in parting from the only world she had

ever known. She wanted to leave this world with gratitude to Allah in

her heart because He had promised those who so thanked him that He

would bestow on them an increase of bounty and favors (Qur’ān,

Ibrāhīm, 14:7). She did not sigh! She did not share Indian Emperor

Bahadur Shah Zafar’s lament:

‘Umr daraz maang layay thay char din,

Do arzoo main kat gayay thay, do intizar main!

[From the ‘chest of drawers’ of lifespans,

I sought and obtained (a lifespan of) four days,

Two (of the four) have gone in wishing and

the other two in waiting!]

Rather, such a believing woman was ever ready to travel on in

time to new worlds of time. She never defied the passage of time, and



44

so she never disrespected Allah Most High – because He is time.

Whoever lives in harmony with time lives in harmony with his Lord

and Creator! Whoever can penetrate time beyond the ‘here and now’

can read and understand the signs of Allah and the signs of the Last

Day as they unfold in the movement of history.

The dimension in which we measure the passage of time with

days and nights and the seasons of our life as well as the seasons of

nature, is provided to us that we might measure the passage of our

own individual and collective sojourn on earth. It is a test and trial. It

does not represent the totality of time. Rather it constitutes the

foundation for our growth into other dimensions of time described in

the Qur’ān. As we grow in time, i.e., in our perception of time and

capacity to grasp and understand time as it unfolds in our lives as well

as in the external world, we simultaneously enhance our capacity to

understand the Last Age as it unfolds in the last stage of the historical

process. And that is by far the most important thing that we argue in

this chapter.

‘Time’ in the Qur’ān

Allah Most Wise has taught the subject of ‘time’ by scattering

pearls of ‘time’ here and there in the Holy Qur’ān and in the life and

words of the blessed Messenger of Allah (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and

then placing upon the enquirer the onus of gathering those pearls and

stringing them together as in a necklace.

My distinguished teacher of blessed memory, Maulāna Dr

Muhammad Fadlur Rahman Ansāri (rahimahullah) described that

‘necklace’ as the ‘system of meaning’ of the subject. We have made a



45

humble attempt in this very important section of this chapter to not

only locate some of those pearls of ‘time’ in the Qur’ān but to also try

to string them together as a necklace.

The Arabs considered ‘Time’ (al-Dahr) to be the ultimate reality.

They believed ‘time’ to be the only thing that survived. Everything

and everyone would perish and pass away because they would be

‘destroyed’ by ‘Time’:

(#θä9$ s%uρ $ tΒ }‘Ïδ āωÎ) $ uΖè?$ uŠ xm $ u‹ ÷Ρ‘‰9$# ßNθßϑ tΡ $ u‹øt wΥ uρ $ tΒ uρ !$ uΖä3Ï= ÷κç‰ āωÎ)

ã� ÷δ¤$!$# 4 $ tΒ uρ Μçλm; y7 Ï9 x‹Î/ ô ÏΒ AΟù= Ïæ ( ÷βÎ) öΝ èδ āωÎ) tβθ‘ΖÝàtƒ ∩⊄⊆∪ ⟨

“And they say: What is there but our life in this world? We shall die and we

live and nothing but Time (al-Dahr) can destroy us. But of that they have no

knowledge: they engage in mere conjecture.”

(Qur’ān, al-Jāthiyah, 45:24)

Modern godless western civilization which recognizes no reality

beyond material reality, has declared that ‘time is money’. Time has

become a commodity that can be traded, bought and sold. Whenever

money, for example, is lent on interest, the time value of money is

expressed in interest payments.

Allah Most High responded (in a Hadīth al-Qudsi) by declaring

that He Himself is time (al-Dahr):

“Narrated Abu Hurairah: A llah's Apostle said, Allah said, 'The offspring of

Adam abuse Dahr (Time), and I am Dahr (Time); in My Hands are the night

and the day!' “

(Sahīh Bukhāri)



46

When Allah Most High declares that He is time the implication is

that there is such a thing as absolute time, i.e., that time that exists

independently and is not conditioned by other than itself. And when

He goes on to point out that “in My Hands are the night and the day”,

the further implication is that time , as we know it, i.e., the conception

of time that is grounded in the alternation of night and day, is relative

in nature – i.e., relative to Allah’s ‘absolute’ time. Time as we know it,

in which measurement is done through the counting of ‘days’,

‘nights’, ‘weeks’, ‘months’, ‘years’, etc., may be described as serial

time.

The Qur’ān explains that serial time is just the beginning of time

and has been provided for purposes which are utilitarian i.e., so that

people may have a means of counting the passage of years and of

measuring time in their own mundane temporal world. Serial time is

real. It is not to be considered as an illusion or a thing that is unreal:

uθèδ “Ï% ©! $# Ÿ≅yè y_ }§ôϑ¤±9$# [!$ u‹ ÅÊ u� yϑ s)ø9$#uρ #Y‘θçΡ …çν u‘ £‰s%uρ tΑÎ—$ sΨ tΒ

(#θßϑ n=÷è tFÏ9 yŠ y‰tã tÏΖÅb¡9$# z>$ |¡Åsø9$#uρ 4 $tΒ t, n= yz ª!$# y7 Ï9 sŒ āωÎ) Èd,ysø9$$ Î/ 4 ã≅Å_Áx& ãƒ ÏM≈ tƒFψ$# 5Θöθs) Ï9 tβθßϑ n= ÷ètƒ ∩∈∪ ⟨

“It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light

(of beauty) and measured out stages for her: that ye might know the number

of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and

righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain his Signs in detail for those who

understand.”

(Qur’ān, Yūnus, 10:5)



47

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Í‘$ pκ]9$# Zοu�ÅÇ ö7ãΒ (#θäó tGö;tGÏj9 WξôÒ sù ÏiΒ óΟä3În/§‘ (#θßϑn= ÷è tGÏ9uρ yŠ y‰tã tÏΖÅb¡9$#

z>$ |¡Ït ù: $#uρ 4 ¨≅ä.uρ &ó x« çµ≈sΨ ù= ¢Ásù WξŠÅÁø& s? ∩⊇⊄∪ ⟨

“We have made the Night and the Day as two (of Our) Signs: the Sign of the

Night have We made obscure while the Sign of the day We have made to

enlighten you; that ye may seek Bounty from your Lord and that ye may

know the number and count of the years, and all things have We explained in

detail.”

(Qur’ān, Banū Isrāīl, 17:12)

The Qur’ān goes on to reveal that between ‘serial’ and ‘absolute’

time there exists seven different worlds of time described as seven

Samāwāt (that are usually erroneously translated as seven heavens):

uθèδ “Ï%©! $# t, n=yz Ν ä3s9 $ ¨Β ’ Îû ÇÚ ö‘ F{$# $ YèŠÏϑy_ §ΝèO #“uθtGó™$# ’ n<Î)

Ï!$ yϑ¡¡9$# £ ßγ1§θ|¡sù yìö7 y™ ;N uθ≈ yϑ y™ 4 uθèδuρ Èe≅ä3Î/ >ó x« ×Λ Ï= tæ ∩⊄∪ ⟨

“It is He who hath created for you all things that are on earth; moreover His

design comprehended the sky for He gave order and perfect ion to the seven

cosmic stratas (samawat); and of all things he hath perfect knowledge.

(Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:29)



48

ßxÎm6|¡è@ ã&s! ßN uθ≈ uΚ ¡¡9$# ßìö7¡¡9$# ÞÚö‘ F{$#uρ tΒ uρ £Îκ�Ïù 4 βÎ) uρ ÏiΒ >ó x«

āωÎ) ßxÎm7 |¡ç„ Ïν Ï‰÷Κut ¿2 Å3≈s9uρ āω tβθßγs) ø&s? öΝßγ ys‹Î6ó¡n@ 3 …çµ‾ΡÎ) tβ%x.

$ ¸ϑŠÏ= xm #Y‘θà& xî ∩⊆⊆∪ ⟨

“The seven cosmic stratas (samawat) and the earth and all beings therein

declare His glory: there is not a thing but celebrates His praise; and yet ye

understand not how they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft- Forbearing,

Most Forgiving!”


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∩⊇∠∪ ⟨

“And We have made above you seven tarāiq (tracts or celestial orbits); and

We are never unmindful of (Our) Creation.”

(Qur’ān, al-M’uminūn, 23:17)

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Say: “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the Throne (of

Glory) Supreme?”

(Qur’ān, al-M’uminūn, 23:86)



49

£ ßγ9ŸÒs) sù yìö7y™ ;N#uθ≈ yϑ y™ ’ Îû È÷tΒ öθtƒ 4‘xm÷ρr& uρ ’Îû Èe≅ä. >!$ yϑy™

$ yδu� øΒ r& 4 $Ζ§ƒy— uρ u!$ yϑ¡¡9$# $ u‹ ÷Ρ‘‰9$# yxŠ Î6≈|Á yϑÎ/ $ Zàø& Ïmuρ 4 y7 Ï9 sŒ ã�ƒÏ‰ø) s?

Í“ƒÍ“yè ø9$# ÉΟŠ Ï= yèø9$# ∩⊇⊄∪ ⟨

“So He completed them as seven cosmic stratas (samawat) in two Days and

He assigned to each heaven its duty and command. And We adorned the

lower heaven with lights and (provided it) with guard. Such is the Decree of

(Him) the Exalted in Might Full o f knowledge.”

(Qur’ān, Fussilāt, 41:12)

ª! $# “Ï%©! $# t, n=yz yìö6y™ ;N uθ≈ oÿxœ zÏΒ uρ ÇÚö‘ F{$# £ ßγn= ÷WÏΒ ãΑ ¨”t∴tGtƒ Þ÷ö∆F{$#

£ åκs]÷� t/ (#ûθçΗ s> ÷ètFÏ9 ¨βr& ©!$# 4’ n?tã Èe≅ä. &ó x« Ö�ƒÏ‰s% ¨βr& uρ ©!$# ô‰s% xÞ%tnr& Èe≅ä3Î/

>ó x« $ NΗø> Ïã ∩⊇⊄∪ ⟨

“Allah is He Who created seven cosmic stratas (samawat) and of the earth a

similar number (i.e., seven stratas of the earth). Through the midst of them

(all) descends His Command: that ye may know that Allah has power over all

things and that Allah comprehends all things in (His) Knowledge.”

(Qur’ān, al-Talāq, 65:12)

“Ï% ©! $# t, n= yz yìö7 y™ ;N uθ≈ yϑy™ $ ]%$ t7ÏÛ ( $Β 3“u� s? ’ Îû È,ù= yz Ç≈ uΗ÷q §�9$#

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50

“He Who created the seven cosmic stratas (samawat) one above another; no

want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious, so

turn thy vision again: Seest thou any flaw?”

(Qur’ān, al-Mulk, 67:3)

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“See ye not how Allah has created the seven cosmic stratas (samawat) one

above another?”

(Qur’ān, Nūh, 71:15)

$ uΖøŠ t⊥t/uρ öΝä3s%öθsù $ Yè ö7y™ #YŠ#y‰Ï© ∩⊇⊄∪ $ uΖù= yèy_uρ % [`#u�Å� % [`$δuρ ∩⊇⊂∪ ⟨

“And (have We not) built over you the seven firm (bodies), and placed

(therein) a Light of Splendor?”

(Qur’ān, al-Naba, 78:12-3)

These seven firm bodies are usually recognized as seven

‘heavens’. But they are not heavens at all! Rather they should be

recognized as seven different worlds of space and time that stand in-

between earth and Allah Most High on His Summit-Throne (al-‘Arsh).

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him)

made mention of this in the following Hadīth:

Narrated al-‘Abbās ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib : “I was sitting in al-Batha with a

company among whom the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) was sitting,

when a cloud passed above them. The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him)

looked at it and said: What do you call this? They said: Sahab. He said: And

muzn? They said: And muzn. He said: And anan? They said: And anan. Abū

Daūd said: I am not quite confident about the word anan. He asked: Do you

know the distance between the Samā (sky) and Earth? They replied: We do



51

not know. He then said: The distance between them is seventy-one, seventy-

two, or seventy-three years. The Samā which is above it is at a similar

distance (going on untill he counted seven Samāwāt). Above the seventh

Samā there is a sea, the distance between whose surface and bottom is like

that between one Samā and the next. Above that there are eight mountain

goats the distance between whose hoofs and haunches is like the distance

between one Samā and the next. Then Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted, is

above that.”

(Abū Daūd)

It would appear that a different Ālam (world or cosmos) exists in

each of these seven Samāwāt. The Qur’ān commenced Sūrah al-

Fātihah with a description of Allah Most High as Rab al-Ālamīn (i.e.,

the Lord-God of all the seven worlds):

ß‰ôϑ ysø9$# ¬! Éb>u‘ tÏϑ n=≈yèø9$# ∩⊄∪ ⟨

“Praise be to Allah, the Lord-God of (all) the worlds.”

(Qur’ān, al-Fāt ihah, 1:2)

What this implies is that in the same way that Allah Most High is Rab

(Lord-God) to humankind in this Ālam, so too is He Rab to those who

are located in all the other Ālamūn (plural of Ālam) and who are also

supposed to worship Him:

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āωÎ) ßxÎm7 |¡ç„ Ïν Ï‰÷Κut ¿2 Å3≈s9uρ āω tβθßγs) ø&s? öΝßγ ys‹Î6ó¡n@ 3 …çµ‾ΡÎ) tβ%x.

$ ¸ϑŠÏ= xm #Y‘θà& xî ∩⊆⊆∪ ⟨



52

“The seven cosmic stratas (samawat) and the earth, and all beings therein,

declare His glory: there is not a thing but celebrates His praise; and yet ye

understand not how they declare His glory! Verily He is Oft-Forbearing,

Most Forgiving!

(Qur’ān, al-Isrā, 17:44)

The Qur’ān actually identifies these seven worlds as different

dimensions of space and time. For example it makes mention of a

world (Ālam) with a dimension of time in which:

• A ‘day’ is like fifty thousand years:

ßl ã� ÷ès? èπx6Í× ‾≈ n=yϑ ø9$# ßyρ ”�9$#uρ Ïµø‹s9Î) ’Îû 5Θöθtƒ tβ% x. … çνâ‘#y‰ø) ÏΒ tÅ¡÷Η s~

y#ø9r& 7πuΖy™ ∩⊆∪ ⟨

“The angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day the measure whereof is

(as) fifty thousand years.”

(Qur’ān, al- M’ārij, 70:4)

And it makes mention of a second world (Ālam) with a dimension of

time in which:

• A ‘day’ is like a thousand years:

y7tΡθè= Åf÷è tGó¡o„uρ É>#x‹yèø9$$ Î/ s9uρ y#Ï= øƒ ä† ª! $# … çνy‰ôã uρ 4 āχÎ) uρ $ �Β öθtƒ

y‰Ψ Ïã y7 În/u‘ É#ø9r( x. 7πuΖy™ $ £ϑ ÏiΒ šχρ ‘‰ãès? ∩⊆∠∪ ⟨



53

“Yet they ask thee to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His

promise. Verily a day in the sight of thy Lord is like a thousand years of your

reckoning.”

(Qur’ān, al-Hajj, 22:47)

ã� În/y‰ãƒ u� øΒ F{$# š∅ÏΒ Ï!$ yϑ¡¡9$# ’ n< Î) ÇÚö‘ F{$# ¢ΟèO ßl ã� ÷ètƒ Ïµø‹ s9Î) ’ Îû 5Θöθtƒ

tβ%x. ÿ… çν â‘#y‰ø) ÏΒ y#ø9r& 7πuΖy™ $£ϑ ÏiΒ tβρ ‘‰ãès? ∩∈∪ ⟨

“He rules (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth: in the end will (all

affairs) go up to Him on a day the measure whereof will be (as) a thousand

years of your reckoning.”

(Qur’ān, al-Sajda, 32:5)

• A day is like three hundred years

In Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān, the supreme importance of time

in relation to the subject of Dajjāl was dramatically emphasized when

Allah Most High declared that He caused the young men to remain in

the cave for many years. He then raised them to wakefulness in order

to determine which of them would be able to accurately assess the

period of time that they had tarried in the cave. They had actually slept

for three hundred years and yet felt that they had tarried for a day or

part of a day:

$sΨ ö/u�|Ø sù #’ n?tã öΝ ÎγÏΡ#sŒ#u ’ Îû É#ôγ s3ø9$# šÏΖÅ™ #YŠ y‰tã ∩⊇⊇∪ ¢ΟèO

öΝ ßγ≈uΖ÷Vyè t/ zΟn= ÷èuΖÏ9 ‘“r& È÷t/÷“ Ït ù: $# 4 |Âômr& $yϑ Ï9 (#ûθèWÎ6s9 #Y‰tΒ r& ∩⊇⊄∪ ⟨



54

“And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year, (they were

thus cut off from the outside world), and then We awakened them; (and we

did all this) so that We might mark out (to the world) which of the two points

of view showed a better comprehension of the time-span during which they

had remained in that state.”

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:11-12)

y7 Ï9 x‹Ÿ2uρ óΟßγ≈sΨ ÷W yèt/ (#θä9u!$ |¡tGuŠ Ï9 öΝ æηuΖ÷� t/ 4 tΑ$s% ×≅Í← !$ s% öΝåκ÷]ÏiΒ öΝ Ÿ2

óΟçFø[Î6s9 ( (#θä9$ s% $ uΖø[Î7 s9 $ �Β öθtƒ ÷ρr& uÙ÷èt/ 5Θöθtƒ 4 (#θä9$ s% öΝ ä3š/u‘ ÞΟn= ôã r& $ yϑÎ/

óΟçFø[Î6s9 ⟨ . . . . .

Such (being their state), We raised them up (from sleep) that they might

question each other. One of them asked, “How long have ye stayed (here)?”

They said, “We have stayed (perhaps) a day or part of a day.” (At length) they

(all) said “Allah (alone) knows best how long ye have stayed here . . . .”


(#θèW Î6s9uρ ’ Îû óΟÎγÏ& ôγx. y]≈n= rO 7πsf($ ÏΒ šÏΖÅ™ (#ρßŠ#yŠ ø—$#uρ $ Yè ó¡Ï@ ∩⊄∈∪ ⟨

“So they stayed in their Cave three hundred years and (some) add nine

(more).”


Some of the young men responded that they had stayed in the

cave for just a day or part of a day. Others, however, could discern

spiritually that the passage of time in the cave perhaps exceeded that

which was suggested by some of their companions. Indeed some

people suggested that the youths had slept in the cave for as long a



55

period of time as three hundred solar years (equivalent to 309 lunar

years).

• A day is like a hundred years:

The Qur’ān has also described the event in which a man passed

by a ‘town’ that was lying in ruins (i.e., Jerusalem) and wondered

skeptically how could Allah Most High revive that ‘town’.

Whereupon Allah caused him to die (metaphorically) for a hundred

years and then revived him to ask him how long he had tarried there.

His response was “a day or part of a day”:

÷ρr& “É‹©9$% x. §� tΒ 4’ n?tã 7πtƒö� s% }‘Ïδuρ îπtƒÍρ%s{ 4’n?tã $ yγÏ©ρ á�ãã tΑ$s% 4’ ‾Τr&

Ç‘ósãƒ ÏνÉ‹≈ yδ ª!$# y‰÷è t/ $ yγ Ï?öθtΒ ( çµs?$ tΒ r'sù ª!$# sπsf($ ÏΒ 5Θ$ tã §ΝèO … çµsVyèt/ ( tΑ$ s% öΝ Ÿ2 |M ÷VÎ7 s9 ( tΑ$s% àM÷VÎ7 s9 $ �Βöθtƒ ÷ρ r& uÙ÷è t/ 5Θöθtƒ ( tΑ$ s% ≅t/ |M ÷VÎ7©9

sπsf($ ÏΒ 5Θ$ tã ö� ÝàΡ$$ sù 4’ n< Î) y7 ÏΒ$yè sÛ y7 Î/#u�Ÿ° uρ öΝ s9 ÷µΖ|¡tFtƒ ( ö� ÝàΡ$#uρ 4’ n<Î)

x8Í‘$ yϑ Ïm y7n= yè ôfuΖÏ9uρ Zπtƒ#u Ä¨$ ¨Ψ=Ïj9 ( ö�ÝàΡ$#uρ ’ n< Î) ÏΘ$ sàÏèø9$# y#ø‹ Ÿ2

$ yδã”Å³⊥çΡ §Ν èO $ yδθÝ¡õ3tΡ $ Vϑóss9 4 $ £ϑn= sù št7 s? … çµs9 tΑ$s% ãΝ n=ôã r& ¨βr& ©!$#

4’ n?tã Èe≅à2 &ó x« Ö�ƒÏ‰s% ∩⊄∈∪ ⟨

Or (take) the similitude of one who passed by a town, all in ru ins to its roofs.

He asked, “How shall Allah bring it (ever) to life, after (this) its death?” but

Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him up (again). He

asked, “How long didst thou tarry (thus)?” He replied, “(Perhaps) a day or

part of a day.” He responded, “Nay, thou hast tarried thus a hundred years;



56

but look at thy food and thy drink, they show no signs of age; and look at thy

donkey. And that We may make of thee a sign unto the people, Look fu rther

at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh.” When

this was shown clearly to him, he said: “I know that Allah hath power over

all things.”


The seven different dimensions of space and time appear to exist

alongside each other rather than a second beginning where the first

ends:



He Who created the seven cosmic stratas (samawat) one beside another; no

want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious, so

turn thy vision again: Seest thou any flaw?”


There is a remarkable description of the proximity of different

dimensions of time right here on earth in the same passage of the

Qur’ān quoted above (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:259), in which Allah Most

High makes mention of the traveler who passed by Jerusalem after the

Babylonian destruction and who could not conceive of the dead city

ever being revived to life.

The traveler was put to death (sleep is a form of death) for a

hundred years and then revived to consciousness. As with the youth,

so too did the traveler have the consciousness of having tarried for just

a day or part of a day. But the Qur’ān gives a vivid description of two



57

different dimensions of time existing beside each other on earth when

it described the fate of the donkey in one dimension of time, and of the

food in another. While the donkey, in our dimension of time, starved

to death, and the body decomposed until even the bones had crumbled

to dust, the food which was preserved in another dimension of time

remained fresh even after a hundred years. The lesson from this

narrative is that both dimensions of time exist side by side right here

on earth!

We witness exactly the same phenomenon in the next chapter of

this book in the story of the young men who were put to sleep in the

cave and who slept for three hundred years. Our analysis of that story

indicates that their bodies were located simultaneously in two

dimensions of time during their long sleep in the cave. In the first

dimension of time their bodies kept on rolling to the left and to the

right in synchrony with the movement of the sun, i.e., morning and

evenings. In the second dimension of time their bodies displayed no

visible signs of biological growth and ageing despite the passage of

three hundred years.

Different dimensions of time and of space can all be located

Tibāqa, i.e., together or alongside each other.

We can now understand how unseen recording angels who exist

in a different dimension of space and time can be constantly present

on both our shoulders as we live here on earth, and how unseen Jinn

can also be constantly present all around us. They are present around

us while yet not present in the same dimension of space and time in

which we exist. Hence it is that we cannot see them. Consider the

following verse of the Qur’ān:



58

û É_t6≈ tƒ tΠyŠ#u Ÿω ãΝ à6Ψ t⊥ÏFø& tƒ ß≈sÜø‹ ¤±9$# !$ yϑx. yl u� ÷zr& Ν ä3÷ƒuθt/r& z ÏiΒ

ÏπΖyfø9$# äí Í”∴tƒ $ yϑåκ÷]tã $ yϑ åκyb$ t7Ï9 $ yϑßγ tƒÎ�ã�Ï9 !$ yϑ ÎκÌE uöθy™ 3 …çµ‾ΡÎ) öΝä31u� tƒ uθèδ

… çµè=‹Î6s%uρ ô ÏΒ ß]ø‹ xm Ÿω öΝåκtΞ÷ρ u� s? 3 $ ‾ΡÎ) $ uΖù= yèy_ tÏÜ≈ uŠ¤±9$# u!$ u‹ Ï9÷ρr& t Ï%©#Ï9

Ÿω tβθãΖÏΒ ÷σãƒ ∩⊄∠∪ ⟨

O Child ren of Adam! let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as he got

your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose

their shame: for he and his tribe watch you from a place where ye cannot see

them (i.e., they observe you from a dimension of space and time beyond your

observation – hence from an unseen world): We made the Ev il Ones friends

(only) to those without Faith.

(Qur’ān: al-‘Arāf, 7:27)

The lesson from the above narrative pertaining to the ‘food’ and

the ‘donkey’ extends beyond recognition of two worlds of time

existing side by side right here on earth. The food, while still located

in this world of time, was also preserved in a second world of time in

which it remained fresh despite the passage of three hundred years. In

other words, continuous travel or passage between two worlds of time

occurred in this event.

The same thing occurred in the case of the young men in the cave

as described in Sūrah al-Kahf. Their bodies remained physically for

three hundred years in the cave in this world of time while yet

preserved in another world of time in which they never grew old. And

the same travel or passage through different worlds of time occurred

in the Isrā and M’irāj of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam).



59

In view of the fact, however, that the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam) had to be taken by Burāq to the Holy Land in order to be

further transported into the Samāwāt, it now seems clear that this

phenomenon of travel between other dimensions of time and our time

is possible, perhaps only in the Holy Land. Hence the ‘town’ that was

lying in ruins had to be Jerusalem, and so the miraculous event

concerning the donkey and the food occurred in the Holy Land. The

Cave in Sūrah al-Kahf also had to be located somewhere in or around

the Holy Land. It was from the Holy Land that Jesus, the Son of Mary

(peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both), was raised into the

Samawāt. And when he returns from the Samawāt it should be in or

around Jerusalem that he would descend.

Dr Ansāri and Evolutionary Time

Our teacher of blessed memory, Maulāna Dr. Muhammad Fadlur

Rahmān Ansāri (1914 – 1974), interpreted the divine guidance in

much the same way as did Maulāna Jalāluddin Rūmī to explain that

while all creation commenced with the command “Kun” (Be!) yet all

created things proceeded to evolve through different stages in different

worlds. He described a world of light in which beings of light, namely

Angels, came into being, and a world of fire in which Jinn came into

being, and, finally, a world of clay in which humankind emerged. He

consequently believed that ‘time’, like everything else in Allah’s

creation, evolved until it finally emerged in the form in which we

perceive it now.

What this chapter suggests is that the evolution of time took place

in its passage or movement through different Samawāt or worlds of



60

time. And once we understand and accept that process the

interpretation of the all-important Hadīth concerning Dajjāl’s life-

span on earth becomes possible. Here is a description of Maulāna’s

Qur’anic cosmology in which time evolves. The quotation is taken

from his two-volume masterpiece, ‘The Qur’anic Foundations and

Structure of Muslim Society’:

“God’s relationship with the cosmos as its Creator emerges in the Qur’ān at

two levels, i.e., the levels of al-Amr and al-Khalq, — both established and

united under that Attribute of God which relates to cherishing, nourishing,

evolving and perfecting, i.e ., al-Rabb:

…… .. 3 Ÿωr& ã&s! ß, ù=sƒ ù: $# Þ÷ö∆F{$#uρ 3 x8 u‘$t6s? ª! $# �>u‘ tÏΗ s>≈yè ø9$# ∩∈⊆∪ ⟨

“. . . . . . Lo! His is al-Khalq and al-Amr. Blessed is Allah the Rabb of the

worlds (i.e., the entire cosmos).”

(Qur’ān, al-‘Arāf, 7:54)

Thus, the Creation began with God’s Amr:

ßìƒÏ‰t/ ÏN uθ≈ yϑ¡¡9$# ÇÚö‘ F{$#uρ ( #sŒ Î)uρ # |Ós% #X÷ö∆r& $ yϑ ‾ΡÎ* sù ãΑθà) tƒ … ã&s!

ä. ãβθä3uŠ sù ∩⊇⊇∠∪ ⟨

“The Orig inator of the heavens and the earth; and whensoever He decrees an

affair (Amr), He only says to it `Be' and it becomes. (Hence the origination of

the cosmos also took place as a result of Allah’s Command ‘Be’).”


!$ yϑ‾ΡÎ) ÿ… çν ã�øΒ r& !#sŒÎ) yŠ#u‘r& $ ¸↔ø‹ x© βr& tΑθà)tƒ … çµs9 ä. ãβθä3uŠ sù ∩∇⊄∪ ⟨



61

“His Amr (i.e., law of bringing something into existence) is that when He

intends a thing, He only says, to it (by way of Command, or, Amr): ‘Be’! and

it becomes.”

(Qur’ān, Yasin, 36:82)

Hence the first stage in the creation of the cosmos should be affirmed in

terms of ‘Becoming’. We may also call it the stage of subtle existence,

intangibility (as opposed to the tangibility of matter), and spacelessness-cum-

timelessness.

Looking at the process of creation in the background of the concept of

evolution projected explicit ly in the Qur’ān, we arrive at the view of

evolutionary creation, wherein — like the evolutionary hypothesis in modern

Science — we are led to the affirmation of the ‘Primeval Atom’ as the

starting point, which functioned as the nucleus and out of which grew the

entire cosmos through an evolutionary process — even as we find it

mentioned in the Hadiīh quoted in the foregoing on page xiii (see below),

wherein the concept of the ‘First Created Light functioning as Nucleus’ has

been projected.

The unique position which he holds among all creatures has been

unambiguously affirmed also in a Hadiīh reported by the Holy Prophet’s

Companion Jabir and upheld as authentic in Islamic history by eminent

authorities, among whom may be mentioned, by way of example, one of the

classical Qur’an ic commentators, Allama Alusi (vide his classical Tafsir, the

Rūh al-Ma’ani, vol.1, p. 51). It is to the effect:

“Jābir reports: I said ‘O Messenger of Allah! In form me about that which

Allah created before all (other) things’. He replied: Verily, Allah, the

Almighty, created before all (other) things the Light of thine Prophet through

His Light ....” (Quoted on the authority of muhaddith `Abd al-Razzāq [the

eminent forerunner of Imām al-Bukhāri and author of Al-Musannaf] by

Allāma Yusuf b. Ismail al-Nabhāni, in Al-Anwār al-Muhammadiyyah min

Mawāhib al-Ludunniyah, p. 12, Beirut, 1310 A.H.). The Hadīth then



62

proceeds to inform that the entire universe was created by God from that

original created Light, which the luminaries of Islam have named as the

‘Light of Muhammad’.

As for the nature of the evolutionary process, it should be conceived, in

the very nature of the case, in terms of progressive decrease in subtlety,

refinement, intangibility and qualitativeness, and progressive increase in

respect of concreteness, crystallizat ion, tangibility and quantitativeness: on

the basis of a progressive crystallizat ion of the process of al-Khalq, which

implies the creation of new objects from the existing materials. In other

words, it must have begun a progress towards more and more profound

‘expression’. This is what we understand from the Qur'ān as well as from

Science.

Indeed, different things appear in the Qur'ān to have emerged into

dynamic existence at different stages of the evolutionary process. Thus, there

existed the angels, the jinn and the human beings in that pre-physical, or,

transcendental, dimension of existence; and, among them, the angels and the

jinn were there prior to the existence of the human beings, as the Holy Qur'ān

testifies (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:30-34). Then, according to what we read in

the Holy Book in plain terms, humanity was made to appear before God in

her transcendental, or, pre-earthly, d imension of existence, to proclaim the

Covenant of Monotheism (Qur’ān, al-‘Arāf, 7:172) — which means that

human beings existed at that stage of Creation. Similarly, the event of the

‘Covenant of the Prophets’ has been mentioned therein to have occurred in

that stage of Creation (Qur’ān, Ale ‘Imrān, 3:81, — which proves the

existence of the Prophets at that stage.

All this means that a Realm of Created Beings and Things became

gradually established in respect of their essential or ideal nature, even in the

first stage of creation. But evolution was to continue, and has continued,

according to God’s Plan. However Allah set a measure or scale of growth of

all things:



63

…… ô‰s% Ÿ≅yè y_ ª!$# Èe≅ä3Ï9 &óx« #Y‘ô‰s% ∩⊂∪ ⟨

“Allah has set a measure (or, a scale of growth and maturity — which

enshrines its destiny) for every thing.”

(Qur’ān, al-Talāq, 65:3)

In consequence certain things that had emerged from potentiality into

actuality, had to stay in the state they had acquired — the angels, for

instance; while others had to continue their evolutionary journey, finally

emerging in the Spatio-Temporal Order of Existence — the human beings,

for instance.

(‘Qur’anic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society’, Vol. 2, pp 16-17).

The Qur’anic cosmology presented above describes a process of

evolutionary creation. It therefore confirms an evolution of time

through different dimensions of time. The logical implication is that

all creation evolved through different dimensions of time before

finally emerging in the dimension of space and time in which we live

and die. The Qur’ān affirms the existence of seven different Samawāt

that exist each beside the other, and this implies that seven different

dimensions of time are all simultaneously present, all accessible, and

all capable of impacting on life on earth:



“He Who created the seven skies (hence seven different dimensions of space

and time) layer after layer (or strata after strata, each beyond the other, each



64

merging perfectly with the other): no defect wilt thou see in the Creation of

(Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw?”


óΟs9r& (#÷ρu� s? y#ø‹x. t, n= yz ª!$# yìö7 y™ ;N uθ≈ yϑy™ $ ]%$ t7ÏÛ ∩⊇∈∪ ⟨

“Do you not see how Allah has created the seven cosmic stratas (samawat)

layer after layer (or strata after strata one beyond the other) …..”

(Qur’ān, Nuh, 71:15)

Similarly the Qur’ān affirms that mankind passed through the

same process of emergence (or evolution) through different

dimensions of space and time until we emerged in this world:

Iξsù ãΝÅ¡ø%é& È,x& ¤±9$$ Î/ ∩⊇∉∪ È≅ø‹ ©9$#uρ $ tΒ uρ t,y™uρ ∩⊇∠∪ Í� yϑ s)ø9$#uρ #sŒ Î) t,|¡‾@$#

∩⊇∇∪ ¨ ãx.ö�yI s9 $ ¸)t7 sÛ tã 9, t7 sÛ ∩⊇∪ ⟨

“So I do call to witness the ruddy glow of Sunset; The Night and its Homing;

And the Moon in her Fullness: Ye shall surely travel from stratum to stratum

(i.e., from one dimension of space and time to another, and then another, etc.,

in the seven stratas of creation).”

(Qur’ān, al-Inshiqāq, 84:16-19)

Every human being experiences in the phenomenon of true

dreams – sometimes known as prophetic dreams – the passage, or

evolution, of a created event through these different worlds. Dreams

that come true provide direct evidence that a transcendental world

exists. Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) declared of true

dreams and visions (and this includes spiritual insight) that they would



65

be the last surviving part of prophethood that would remain in the

world after him. But they do something else. When faith in Allah

Most High enters into the heart then two things depart from the heart –

namely fear and grief, and hope takes in their place – hope for good in

this life and in the next. When the believer experiences continuous

true dreams then hope is transformed into joy since they represent

confirmation of the fulfillment of hope:

“When the time (o f the end of the world) draws close, the dreams of a

believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of the

forty-six parts of prophethood.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

The only possible way that one can explain the phenomenon of a

true or prophetic dream is that events exist before they occur. In other

words, the process of creation of an event commences with the divine

command be!, and then passes through various dimensions of space

and time until it culminates as an actual event in this world of space

and time. It is when that event is intercepted before it occurs in this

world, and the news of the event is communicated in the form of a

dream, that we experience the phenomenon of a true or prophetic

dream.

Thus a true dream can only be explained if one accepts the

existence of dimensions or worlds of space and time beyond that

which we directly experience. There is a reality that is transcendental

(or spiritual). Spiritual ‘substance’ emerges in material ‘form’ in every

thing that exists, and every thing that occurs. All that appears in

material ‘form’ were so ‘fashioned’ by Allah Most High that they

might function as symbols (Āyāt) which would lead to, and reveal,

their spiritual ‘substance’.



66

And so, the event seen in a true predictive dream would be an

event created by Allah Most High which first exists only in the

dimension of spiritual ‘substance’. It subsequently emerges as material

‘form’, and the dream then becomes a reality.

It should be clear that we cannot locate the second sky or stratum

physically at a point where the first sky or stratum ends, for that would

place the second sky or stratum in the same dimension of space as the

first. It might be more appropriate to conceive of all seven stratas with

their different dimensions of space and time as overlapping each other

or merging into each other, instead of a spatially vertical juxtaposition

of the seven skies or strata. So one does not need a space-ship with

which to travel for light years before exhausting one dimension of

space and time and entering another. One can step from one dimension of

time into a second in a fleeting moment. Nor would it require any

movement in our space or our time to take that step. Rather we can do

it every time we stand in worship to perform our Salāt (prayer). This

explains both the miracle of the blessed Prophet’s Isrā and M’irāj

when he traveled in a fleeting moment from Makkah to Jerusalem and

through all seven transcendental worlds of space and time before

returning to Makkah. This may also explain the phenomenon of the

ascension of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam) into the heavens and his eventual

return to this dimension of space and time at that time when Dajjāl

would have completed his mission. When Jesus returns to our

dimension of time after more than 2000 years away from us, he would

not have aged by as much as even a day.

Sūrah al-Fātihah and the different worlds of time



67

The blessed Prophet declared of Sūrah al-Fātihah that it was the

greatest Sūrah of the Qur’ān. There was nothing in previously

revealed scriptures that could compare with it, and that it could cure

all illnesses. Consider the following Ahādith:

Narrated Abu Said Al Mualla: While I was praying, the Prophet called me

but I did not respond to his call. Later I said, “O Allah's Apostle! I was

praying.” He asked, “Didn't Allah say: O you who believe! Give your

response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Apostle when he calls you?”

(8.24) He then asked, “Shall I not teach you the most superior Sūrah in the

Qur'ān?” He said, “(It is), Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. (i.e.,

Sūrah al-Fāt iha) which consists of seven off recited verses of the Magnificent

Qur'ān which was given to me.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Abdullah Ibn 'Abbās reported that the Prophet said: “Rejoice in the two

lights brought to you which have not been brought to any Prophet before you:

al-Fatihah and the last verses of Sūrah al-Baqarah (2: 284-5).”

(Muslim)

Abū Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said: “By Him in whose hands is my

soul, nothing like it (i.e., Sūrah al-Fātihah) has been sent down in the

Tauraat, nor in the In jīl, nor in the Zabūr, nor (elsewhere) in the Qur'ān.”

( Tirmīdhi)

'Abd al-Malik Ibn 'Umayr reported that the Prophet said that “Sūrah al-

Fātihah is a healing for every sickness.”

(Tirmīdhī, Dārimi and Bayhaqi)

Narrated Alaqah ibn Sahar at-Tamīmi: A laqah came to the Apostle of Allah

(may peace be upon him) and embraced Islam. He then came back from him

and passed some people who had a lunatic fettered in chains. His people said:

We are told that your companion has brought much that is good. Have you



68

something with which you can cure him? I then recited Sūrah al-Fātihah and

he was cured. They gave me one hundred sheep. I then came to the Apostle

of Allah (peace be upon him) and informed him of it. He asked: Is it only this?

The narrator, Musaddad, said in his other version: Did you say anything other

than that? I said: No. He said: Take it, for by my life, some accept it for a

worthless chain, but you have done so for a genuine one.”

(Sunan Abū Daūd)

Narrated Abū Saīd: Some of the companions of the Prophet went on a

journey untill they reached some of the Arab tribes (at night). They asked the

latter to treat them as their guests but they refused. The chief of that tribe was

then bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and they tried their best to

treat him but in vain. Some of them said (to the others), “Nothing has

benefited him, will you go to the people who are spending the night here,

maybe some of them might possess something (that can cure).” They went to

the group of the companions (of the Prophet) and said, “Our chief has been

bitten by a snake (or stung by a scorpion) and we have tried everything but he

has not benefited. Have you got anything (useful)?” One of them replied,

“Yes, by Allah! I can recite a Ruqya, but as you have refused to accept us as

your guests, I will not recite the Ruqya for you unless you fix fo r us some

wages for it.” They agreed to pay them a flock of sheep. One of them then

went and recited (Sūrah al-Fātihah): All the praises are for the Lord of the

Worlds. He then blew with his breath over the chief who was then healed as

if he was released from shakles. He got up and started walking, showing no

signs of sickness. They paid them what they agreed to pay. Some of them

(i.e . the companions) then suggested to divide their earnings among

themselves, but the one who performed the recitation said, “Do not divide

them till we go to the Prophet and narrate the whole story to him, and wait for

his order.” So, they went to Allah’s Apostle and narrated the story. Allah’s

Apostle asked, “How did you come to know that Sūrah al-Fātiha was recited

as Ruqya?” Then he added, “You have done the right thing. Divide (what you

have earned) and assign a share for me as well.” The Prophet smiled

thereupon.



69

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Our view, and Allah knows best, is the above indicate that the

seven Āyāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Fātihah have the capacity to

spiritually transport the true servant of Allah, even while he is in

Salāt, through the seven dimensions of space and time and to deliver

him/her spiritually to a special proximity with Allah Most High in a

timeless world. This phenomenon constitutes the M’iraj of the

believers.

In other words, spiritual travel (M’irāj) commences at the very

beginning of Salāt with the recitation of Sūrah al-Fātihah. Each of the

seven Ayāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Fātihah can spiritually transport the

worshipper through one of the seven Samawāt or dimensions of space

and time until, by the time he recites Āmīn, he arrives spiritually at the

‘Arsh. He would then be in the special presence of Allah Most High,

and the rest of the Raka’ah (or cycle of prayer) would be performed in

that special divine presence.

This, perhaps, explains why the blessed Messenger of Allah

(peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) always recited each verse

of Sūrah al-Fātihah separately and never joined two of its verses

together in recitation. It also forces those who thought otherwise to

now recognize the Basmallah as the first verse of Sūrah al-Fātihah

and, consequently to further recognize the imperative of reciting it

aloud in Salāt along with its other six Āyāt.

We may now conclude with the recognition of the following

seven worlds or dimensions of time :

1. a day like 50,000 years



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2. a day like 1000 years



5. a day like a year

6. a day like a month and

7. a day like a week.

We are now at last in a position to examine the enigmatic Hadiīh

concerning Dajjāl and his life-span on earth of ‘forty’ days.

Dajjāl’s Emergence in Time

No one can discern the subject of Dajjāl the false Messiah (Anti-

Christ) unless and until he succeeds in first comprehending the subject

of ‘time’. This is because Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of

Allah Most High be upon him) has clearly revealed ‘time’ to be at the very

heart of Dajjāl’s mission since, “when he is released, he would live on

earth for forty days – ‘one day like a year’, ‘one day like a month’, ‘one day

like a week’, and all his days (i.e., all the rest of his days) like your days’.”

(Sahīh Muslim)

It should now be quite clear that Dajjāl passes through three

different dimensions of space and time before he finally emerges in

concrete form in our world where we would actually be able to see

him. In our book entitled ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’ān’ we have located

and explained where Dajjāl would be located on earth during these

three periods of his life prior to that time when he would make his

physical appearance in Jerusalem.

But the further questions arise:



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• how long would a day like a year be?

• how long would a day like a month be?

• how long would a day like a week be?

Since different dimensions of space and time other than our own

cannot be observed normally, there can be no precise mathematical

formula through which we can measure ‘a day like a year’. Nor can

we, through observation and rational effort, measure ‘a day like a

month’ or ‘a day like a week’. But we can certainly recognize that the

three periods of time in which Dajjāl traverses three different

dimensions of time (a day like a year, a month, a week etc.) are such

that the first is the longest, the second is shorter than the first, and the

last is the shortest. The only way we can determine or recognize his passage

from the first to the second and finally to the third dimension of time, before

he emerges in our world, is through his ‘footprints’. By that I mean that we

have to carefully observe events as they emerge in the passage of history and

then, with a careful use of the Ahadīth of the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam), we will be able to recognize and even anticipate his movement from

‘day’ to ‘day’.

It is through the use of this method that we have come to the

conclusion that we are now located at that moment in Dajjāl’s life on earth,

and in the historical process, when ‘a day like a month’ is about to end, and

‘a day like a week’ is about to commence.

When Dajjāl was located in a day like a year we observed that

the island of Britain was his headquarters and that Britain became the

ruling state in the world. Then we observed that when Dajjāl moved

to a day like a month USA became his headquarters and USA

succeeded Britain as the ruling state in the world. We would now be



72

able to recognize when ‘a day like a month’ has ended and ‘a day like

a week’ has begun when another state replaces USA as the ruling state

in the world.

This writer believes, at the time of this writing, that the Euro-

Jewish State of Israel is poised to wage a war through which it would

attempt to seize direct control over all the vast oil resources located in

and around the River Euphrates (i.e., in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,

Kuwait, the Gulf States, etc.). Britain and USA would, of course,

assist Israel in that attack.

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had prophesied

these wars (i.e., the British, and American wars on Iraq to seize

control of Iraq’s oil, and the Israeli war that is about to take place)

when he declared:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle said, “Soon the river Euphrates will

uncover a treasure (like a mountain) of gold. Whoever is present at that time

should not take anything of it.” Al-A'raj narrated from Abu Huraira that the

Prophet said the same but he said, “It (Euphrates) would uncover a mountain

of gold (under it ).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Narrated Ubayy ibn Ka'b: I heard Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) say,

“The Euphrates would soon uncover a mountain of gold and when the people

would hear of it they would flock towards it but the people who would

possess that (treasure) (would say): If we allow these persons to take a piece

of it they will take away the whole thing.” So they will fight and ninety-nine

out of one hundred would be killed. Abu Kamil in his narration said: “I and

Abu Ka'b stood under the shade of the battlement of Hassan.”

(Sahīh Muslim)



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I believe that the massive deaths prophesied (99 out of every 100)

in the war to gain control over that mountain of (black) gold

uncovered by the River Euphrates can be understood in the

tremendous number of deaths already estimated to have occurred in

Iraq. However, I believe that it can better be understood in the context

of the possible future use of such weapons of mass destruction as

nuclear weapons.

I believe that Israel would exploit the opportunity of that big war

to expand its territory “from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates” and

would thus achieve its mythical Biblical frontiers. I expect at that time

there would also be a concomitant collapse of the American dollar,

economy and power to such an extent that Israel would replace USA

as the ruling state in the world! After all, an Israeli nuclear attack to

seize control of the oil that the blessed Prophet described as “a

mountain of gold” would result in such a dramatic rise in the price of

both oil and gold as would precipitate the meltdown of the fraudulent

dollar. The price of oil has also already risen to such an extent that any

further dramatic increase would deliver to Israel the capacity to hold

the entire world to energy ransom. Energy blackmail would thus be

used by the so-called ‘chosen people’ of the Lord-God to establish

their so-called Holy Israel as the new ruling state in the world.

While it may be true that this humble writer is the first to

interpret the Ahadīth pertaining to Dajjāl is this way, it should not

invalidate the interpretation, nor should it weaken ourresolve to resist

Israeli oppression. As events continue to unfold we confidently expect

them to confirm our interpretation of the prophecy of the blessed

Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that would eventually deliver victory



74

to truth and justice. Since ours is an opinion we must qualify our

interpretation of religious symbolism in the Qur’ān and Ahadīth with

‘Allah Knows best’.

Finally if we can calculate the period of time (using our own

measurement of time) when Dajjāl was in ‘a day like a year’, and ‘a

day like a month’, we would then arrive at an understanding of the

approximate amount of time that would elapse in ‘a day like a week’,

i.e., a much shorter period of time than the previous ‘day’. At the end

of ‘a day like a week’ we can expect Dajjāl to be born into our world

(of space and time) of Jewish parents, as prophesied by the blessed

Prophet (salallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and to eventually assume rule over

Israel and the world while he is still a young man. At that time he

would proclaim himself to be the Messiah. When the Jews complete

their acceptance of his (false) claim, his mission would have been

successfully completed.

Readers may wish to visit the analysis presented in our book,

‘Jerusalem in the Qur’ān’, in which we described the three stages in

Dajjāl’s mission which are linked to three different dimensions of

time and which would culminate with him ruling the world from

Jerusalem and triumphantly declaring that he is the promised Messiah.

In the first stage, which lasted for a long time, a Pax Britanica

world-order waged strange colonial wars on the rest of the world and

eventually and cleverly succeeded in ‘liberating’ the Holy Land . . .

Then in the second stage of that master-plan – a stage which is

still in progress and which would last for a shorter time than the first -

a Pax Americana world-order replaced Pax Britanica and proceeded



75

to mysteriously protect the arrogant, aggressive and expansionist

Euro-Jewish State with countless UN Security Council vetoes . . .

And then in the third, final and briefest stage of the master-plan,

a Pax Judaica world-order of universal messianic dictatorship is about

to replace Pax Americana . . .

The most important point we make in ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’ān’

is the world is now located at that moment in time when stage two of

the master-plan is about to culminate and be replaced by stage three.

Let us now attempt to respond to a vexing question that seeks an

explanation of the Hadīth in which our dear Prophet explained how

we should pray in Dajjāl’s ‘day like a year, month and week’. He

declared that we would have to calculate the times for the five daily

prayers:

An-Nawwas ibn Sam'an reported: Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him)

mentioned of the Dajjāl one day in the morning. He sometimes described

him as insignificant and sometimes described (his turmoil) as very significant

(and we felt) as if he were in the cluster of the date-palm trees. . . . . . . . . We

asked, “Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him), how long will he (Dajjāl) stay on

Earth?” He said, “For forty days, one day like a year, one day like a month,

one day like a week, and the rest of the days will be like your days.” We

asked, “Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) would one day’s prayer suffice for

the prayers of the day equal to one year?” Thereupon he said, “No, but you

must make an estimate of the time (and then observe prayer). . . . . .”

(Sahīh Muslim)

After Allah Most High created the earth, He went on to create

seven more worlds of space and time (saba'a samawāt) different from

our world. These worlds exist between this world and Allah's 'Arsh.



76

When Dajjāl is released, said the blessed Prophet (peace be upon

him), he would live on earth while passing through three different

dimensions of space and time. At the end of his passage through those

three dimensions, he would be born into this world of space and time

and his day would then be like our day.

If a Muslim were to travel and to enter any of these Saba’ah

Samāwāt (i.e., seven dimensions of space and time), as the blessed

Prophet (peace be upon him) did in the Mirāj, then he would have to

calculate the timings of Salāt in each Samā(i.e., each dimension of

space and time). The same is true about performing Salāt in the grave.

The blessed Prophet did make mention about the possibility of Salāt in

the grave:

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “I

happened to pass by Moses on the occasion of the Night Journey near the red

mound (and found him) performing his Salāt (prayer) in his grave.”

(Sahīh Muslim)

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: A llah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said,

“When the dead body is buried in the grave, there is presented before him

(the scene of) the setting sun. He then sits down and rubs his eyes and he

says, Leave me so that I may observe my prayer.”

(Sunan Ibn Mājah)

Prophet Muhammad, the master-plan and 666

I believe that Prophet Muhammad prophesied those three stages

of the master-plan (that is the ultimate world-system) through which

Dajjāl the false Messiah (Anti-Christ) would eventually accomplish

his mission of impersonating the true Messiah and thus of ruling the

world from an imposter State of Israel in the Holy Land. The Prophet

said “when Dajjāl is released he would live on earth for forty days – a day



77

like a year – a day like a month – a day like a week – and all his days (i.e., all

the rest of his days) like your days” (Sahih Muslim). He also prophesied,

in what has come to be known as the Hadiīh of Tamīm Dāri, that an

island which specialized in spying, and was located about one month’s

journey by sea from Arabia, would be Dajjāl’s initial base, i.e., in the

first stage of his mission that would last for ‘a day like a year’. I

believe that island could not have been any other than Britain!

The Bible described the very same three-stage process that

would culminate with a new international monetary system of

electronic money and with the Anti-Christ ruling the world from

Jerusalem. It did so when it declared:

“. . and he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to

receive a mark in their right hand, or in their forehead, and that no man might

buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number

of his name. Here is wisdom. Let h im that hath understanding count the

number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is six

hundred, three score, and six” (Revelat ion: 13:16-18).

When the Bible’s religious symbolism is elucidated it reveals that

the number ‘six hundred’ in relation to the Anti-Christ refers to the first

stage of the master plan that lasted for a long time and witnessed the

emergence of the first ruling state in post-Biblical history and to Pax

Britanica. The number ‘three score’ refers to the present second stage

that lasts for a shorter period of time and witnesses the emergence of

the second ruling state and to Pax Americana. Finally the number ‘six’

refers to the third and last stage of the master plan with which the

Anti-Christ finally completes his mission and emerges in human form

to rule the world from Jerusalem and from an imposter ruling State of

Israel with Pax Judaica.



78

The most distinctive feature of the unfolding master-plan from its

very beginning with the Euro-Christian crusades, have been it’s

godlessness, decadence, deception and barbaric oppression.



79

CHAPTER THREE

THE SŪRAH AND THE SUNNAH

In attempting to determine the Sunnah (i.e., the way or example)

of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him)

as it relates to Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān (Chapter 18 entitled ‘The

Cave’) we examine two incidents which occurred in the lifetime of the

blessed Prophet and involved his companions.

First incident

We learn from the first event that the blessed Prophet (sallalahu

'alaihi wa sallam) ordered one of his companions, Abbād ibn Bishr (may

Allah be pleased with him), to memorize the entire Sūrah.

If the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) gave such an order to even

one companion, then the memorization of this Sūrah must be

recognized as a Sunnah of the Prophet. It is our fervent hope and

prayer that this particular narration will encourage our readers to

joyfully embrace this Sunnah, i.e., to make every effort to memorize

the entire Sūrah al-Kahf and then to recite it as frequently as possible

in their Salāt (i.e., prayer). Here is a narration of that event concerning

Abbād ibn Bishr:

“Calmly , 'Abbād pulled out the arrow from his body and went on with his

recitation, still absorbed in his Salāt. The attacker shot a second and a third

arrow both of which also found their mark. Abbād pulled out one and then



80

the other. He finished his recitation, made Rukū (bending down) and then

Sujūd (prostrating to the ground). Weak, and in pain, he stretched out his

right hand while still in prostration and shook his sleeping companion.

'Ammar awoke. Silently, 'Abbād continued the Salāt to its end and then said,

“Get up and stand guard in my place. I have been wounded.”

'Ammār jumped up and began to yell. Seeing them both the attacker fled into

the darkness. 'Ammar turned to 'Abbād as he lay on the ground, blood

flowing from his wounds.

“Ya Subhānallah (Glory be to Allah)! Why did you not wake me when you

were h it by the first arrow?”

“I was in the midst of reciting verses of the Qur’ān which filled my soul with

awe and I d id not want to cut short the recitation. The Prophet (peace and

blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) had commanded me to commit this

Sūrah (i.e., Sūrah al-Kahf) to memory. And so, death would have been easier

for me than interrupting the recitation of this Sūrah”, replied 'Abbad to his

companion. Khalid Muhammad Khalid, 'Rijāl hawla al-Rasūl'; published as

'Men around the Messenger', Islamic Book Trust, Kuala Lumpur (www.ibtbooks.com). 2005 p. 440

If the blessed Prophet ordered one of his companions to

memorize a Sūrah of the Qur’ān it does not mean that it is compulsory

for all Muslims to do the same, but it become a Sunnah. We conclude

from the above, as well as from that which is to follow, that the

memorization of Sūrah al-Kahf is a Sunnah. And whoever performs a

deed which is a Sunnah, and Allah accepts it, will receive the reward

for it.

This writer was blessed to have completed his memorization of

Sūrah al-Kahf during the spiritual retreat of ‘Ittikāf in Ramadān of

1424H while writing this book. He felt an indescribable joy, unlike



81

anything that the Dunyah could offer, when he stood in Salāt and, for

the first time ever, recited the entire Sūrah in Salāt (prayer) while

following in the footsteps of Abbād ibn Bashr. The writer prays that

those who read this book may be similarly inspired to memorize the

entire Sūrah and recite it in Salāt Insha Allah.

Second incident

The second incident involving a companion of the Prophet and

the recitation of Sūrah al-Kahf is taken from Sahīh al-Bukhāri. The

Hadīth makes mention of a Companion who recited Sūrah al-Kahf

and was rewarded by Allah with a divine Sakīna (tranquility which

embraces the heart) which descended upon him like a cloud, and

which frightened his horse. The Hadīth does not make it clear whether

the divinely bestowed Sakīna was received in response to the

recitation of this particular Sūrah of the blessed Qur’ān, or whether it

was in response to the recitation of the Qur’ān itself without reference

to the Sūrah. Our view is that both possibilities are present:

“Narrated by al-Bara b in Azib: A man was reciting Sūrah al-Kahf while his

horse was tied with two ropes beside him. A cloud came down and spread

over that man, and it kept on coming closer and closer to him till h is horse

started jumping (as if afraid of something). When it was morning, the man

came to the Prophet, and told him of that experience. The Prophet said: That

was al-Sakīna (peace and tranquility) which descended because of (the

recitation of) the Qur’ān.”

(Sahīh al-Bukhāri)



82

The Prophet and Sūrah al-Kahf

We have established from the above beautiful narration that the

memorization of Sūrah al-Kahf is a Sunnah. Indeed, the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) recalled his own memorization

of the Sūrah in the following:

“Narrated by Abdullah: The Prophet said: Sūratu Banī Isrāīl, al-Kahf,

Maryam, Tāhā and al-Anbiyā are from the very old Sūrahs which I learnt by

heart, and they are my first property.”


“Narrated by Abdullah bin Masūd: The Prophet said: Sūratu Banī Isrāīl, al-

Kahf, Maryam, Tāhā, and al-Anbiyā are amongst my first earnings and my

old property . . . .”


Let us now continue our introduction to the Sūrah with the vitally

important statement of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah

Most High be upon him) that the believers should recite Sūrah al-Kahf

every Yoūm al-Juma’ah (i.e., Friday) for the Nūr (light) of the Sūrah

and for protection from the Fitnah (trial, deception) of Dajjāl, i.e., the

false Messiah or Anti-Christ:

“Narrated by Abū Sa’īd : The Prophet said: If anyone recites Sūrah al-Kahf on

Yoūm al-Jum’ah (i.e., ‘Friday’ of the pagan world), a light will shine brightly

for him till the next Jum’ah.”

(al-Tirmīdhi; Bayhaqi transmitted it in Kitāb al-Da’wah al-Kabīr)

“Abu Sa’īd al-Khudri reports that the Prophet said: Whoever recites Sūrah al-

Kahf on Jumu’ah (i.e., ‘Friday’ of the pagan world) will have illumination

from the light (of the Sūrah) from one Jum’ah to the next.”

(Nasā’i, Baihaqi, Hākim)



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“Ibn ‘Umar reports that the Prophet said: Whoever recites Sūrah al-Kahf on

Jumu’ah will be blessed with a light that will rise from underneath his feet to

the peak of the sky. This will be a light for him on the Day of Resurrection,

and he will be forgiven for what is between the Jumu’ah, i.e., or the day of

the congregational prayers [and the next] Jumu’ah. “

(Sayyed Sāqib: ‘Fiqh as-Sunnah’ declares that this Hafith is related by

Ibn Mardwwiyah with a fau ltless chain)

We prefer to use the name ‘Youm al-Juma’ah’ that is located in

the blessed Qur’ān, rather than the name ‘Friday’, for the sixth day of

the week. Despite the fact that the name ‘Friday’ met with approval

from a European Pope it nevertheless remained a name with pagan

origins. ‘Friday’ is derived from ‘Fria’, a pagan goddess, and ‘day’ is

derived from ‘daeg’ which means day. Hence the word ‘Friday’

means ‘the day of the goddess Fria’. Here is what Encyclopedia

Encarta has to say about ‘Friday’:

Friday (Anglo-Saxon frîgedaeg; from Old High German Frîa, a goddess; Old

English daeg,”day”), English name of the sixth day of the week. The day was

held sacred to Venus, the goddess of love, by the Romans, who called it dies

veneris (“day of Venus”). In the Romance languages the name of the day is

derived from the Latin, as in the French vendredi, the Italian venera, and the

Spanish viernes. Germanic peoples held the day sacred to the Norse goddess

of love, Frigg, or Frija . The Germanic languages, like English, use variations

of the Old High German frîatag (“day of Frija”) to designate the day. The

Hebrew name for Friday, yom shishi, means “sixth day.” Among many

Slavic peoples, however, Friday is not regarded as the sixth day of the week,

as evidenced by its Russian name, pyatneetza, or “fifth day.)

And so, not only is it a Sunnah to memorize Sūrah al-Kahf, but it

is also a Sunnah to recite it every Youm al-Juma’ah. It is our fervent

prayer that all the readers of this book will be encouraged, Insha



84

Allah, to follow the Sunnah in respect of both memorizing the Surah

and of diligently reciting it every Youm al-Juma’ah.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) also

said that when Dajjāl confronts a believer he should recite the first ten

verses of this Surah over him and Dajjāl will not be able to harm him

or her:

“Abū Darda reported that Allah’s Messenger said: If anyone memorizes the

first ten verses of Sūrah al-Kahf, he will be protected from Dajjāl.” (We have

attempted in a subsequent chapter of this book to describe and analyze those

first ten Ayāt or verses of Sūrah al-Kahf.)

(Sahīh Muslim)

“He among you who will survive to see him (Dajjāl) should recite over him

the opening verses of Sūrah al-Kahf.”

(Sahīh Muslim)

“Narrated Abū Darda': A llah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, He who

recites three verses at the beginning of al-Kahf will be protected from the trial

of the Dajjāl.”

(Tirmīdhi)

In explaining this Sūrah we have to introduce the reader to the

subject of Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ in Islam.

The first thing that we know of Dajjāl is that which is revealed

through his very name. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah Most High

be upon him) described him by name as al-Masīh al-Dajjāl. Al-Masīh

means ‘the Messiah’, and Dajjāl means ‘deceiver’. Thus he would

deceive the Jews into embracing him as the Promised Messiah when,

in fact, he would be a false Messiah.



85

Allah, Most High, had promised the Israelite people that He

would send to them a special Prophet who would be known as al-

Masīh (the Messiah) and who would bring back the golden age (i.e.

the time of David and Solomon) when the Holy State of Israel ruled

the world from the Holy Land. Allah fulfilled His promise by sending

al-Masīh in the person of Jesus, the son of the Virgin Mary.

However, most of the Israelites rejected the claim of Jesus (peace

be upon him) to be the Messiah. Among other things they slandered his

mother and considered him to be a bastard. Hence they could not

recognize him to be the Messiah. They subsequently confirmed their

rejection when they conspired to have him crucified, and then saw him

die before their very eyes without ruling the world from Jerusalem. In

addition, his death by crucifixion confirmed him in their eyes,

according to Torah, as the “cursed of the Lord”.

Having disposed of someone they considered to be a false

Messiah, they have been waiting ever since for the true Messiah to

come in fulfillment of the Divine promise.

As a consequence of their disbelief and rejection of Jesus, and

their wickedness in conspiring to kill him and then boasting of how

they had killed him, Allah Most High responded by releasing into the

world a being created by Him, i.e. Dajjāl, the false Messiah. His

mission would be to deceive them into embracing him as the true

Messiah. In the process he would lead them with consummate

deception down the road to hell. Sūrah al-Kahf, Dajjāl and the Jews

are therefore connected intricately together.

Any introduction to Dajjāl must also involve an introduction to

such related concepts as the simultaneous release into the world of the



86

tribes of Y’ajūj (Gog) and M’ajūj (Magog). The sign given in the

Qur’ān that confirms their release is also a sign linked with the Jews.

Another related concept is that of the advent of Imām al-Mahdi who

would lead the Muslim army that would destroy the oppressor and

imposter State of Israel. Finally, the subject cannot be addressed or

understood without examining the belief in the return of Jesus (peace be

upon him). His return would witness the end of both Judaism and

Christianity as religions, and the triumph of Truth of Islam.

Let us now examine the historical background to the revelation of

Sūrah al-Kahf since it provides even more information about the Jews.



87

CHAPTER FOUR

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE

REVELATION OF SŪRAH AL-KAHF

The Challenge of Islam

Ever since the time of Prophet Ishmael, and for thousands of

years prior to the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah

Most High be upon them both), the pagan Arabs of Arabia had never had

the experience of a Prophet of Allah Most High living in their midst.

The religion of Abraham and of his son, Ishmael (peace be upon them

both), had been corrupted, and so the Arabs, even while worshipping

Allah, also worshipped idols rather than the One unseen God, Allah.

Thus they recognized Allah to be one of the many Gods that they

worshipped. Yet despite this long period of time lived in a wilderness

devoid of divine revelation and prophetic guidance, they still clung to

some remnants of the true religion of Abraham.

For example, Abraham had built the Ka’aba, the Temple or

House of Allah in Makkah, and had established the annual Hajj

(pilgrimage) to that Temple or Holy House. All the Arabs honored

that Temple or Holy House and they continued to perform the Hajj for

thousands of years after Abraham had established it. The tribe of the

Quraish, which traced its lineage to Ishmael, was recognized by all

Arabs as the custodian of the Ka’aba, and that not only gave them

great honor and esteem amongst the Arabs, but it also translated



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handsomely into privilege and wealth. (For a detailed description of

all the remnants of the original true religion of Abraham (‘alaihi al-

Salām) that survived amongst the pagan Arabs, see my book entitled

‘The Religion of Abraham and the State of Israel – A View from the

Qur’ān’.)

Suddenly a man who was born into the tribe of the Quraish and

who grew up amongst them, proclaimed that he was a Prophet of

Allah Most High like the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael. Muhammad

(peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) refused to worship the

idols and the gods of pagan Arabia. He denounced idolatry and

polytheism as false. He declared that there was no god beside Allah,

the one unseen God who was the God of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael,

Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). He declared

that Allah had no daughters and that He never fathered a son. He

never appeared in the person of anyone (not in ancient Egypt, India,

Arabia, and Bethlehem, or even in Chicago). Allah never appeared in

the form of anything - not in wood, marble or stone. Allah was the

God of all of mankind - Arab as well as non-Arab, white as well as

black. He was the God of Makkah and the Quraish, as well as the God

of all other cities, all other tribes and all other races.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) proclaimed that Allah recognized

all of mankind to be “as equal in His sight as were the teeth of a

comb.” He was the God of free men and women, as well as the God of

those who were slaves. Muhammad (peace be upon him) denounced all

forms of oppression including the oppression of the weak, the poor,

the stranger or foreigner, the slave, women and children. He also

forbade cruelty to animals.



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The religion of Islam that he preached challenged the entire

system of dominance and oppression on which Arabian society was

based. Therefore it was a significant threat to the established order.

Islam remains, to this day, a challenge to a contemporary Judeo-

Christian Euro-world-order of godlessness, corruption, decadence and

relentless barbaric oppression. In fact, it is the only force in the world

that continues to demonstrate a capacity to challenge the all-powerful

Euro (white) oppressors, and their colored clients, who together have

established and sustain that Euro-world-order of unprecedented

barbaric oppression.

The Quraish were horrified over the proclamations and preaching

of Muhammad (peace be upon him). He challenged the very foundations

of their religious, social, economic and political order. In fact, the

challenge was even greater than that! Arabia prided itself with its

literary accomplishments. Even though most Arabs could neither read

nor write, they had a highly developed language, the Arabic language,

and an unrivalled appreciation for poetry. They honored their poets

and conferred on them the highest status in society. It was therefore

stunning to the Arabs that from Muhammad’s lips should flow a

Qur’ān (literally ‘reading’) which surpassed in literary excellence the

very best poetry that Arabia had ever experienced. That Qur’ān

challenged the doubting Arabs on a battleground in which they

perceived themselves to be strongest of all, and they found themselves

incapable of responding to its public challenge. The Qur’ān also

challenged the rest of humanity who doubted that it was the word of

the one true God) to produce a chapter (Sūrah) like unto any in it. The

threat of Islam was a threat the likes of which pagan Arabia had never

before experienced. That was their predicament.



90

How should pagan Arabia respond to that challenge? What could

they do? Everything they had tried, failed to stop Islam. They

counseled amongst themselves and decided to seek help from the Jews

who were resident in the northern city of Yathrib (now renamed

Madīna). They asked the Rabbis, “How can we tell whether or not

Muhammad is indeed a true Prophet like Abraham and Moses?” In

consequence of the Jewish response to that question, Allah Most High

sent down Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān itself preserved

this link between the Sūrah and the mission to Yathrib when it

recalled two questions posed by the Rabbis:

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“And they (i.e., the Rabbis of Yathrib) question thee (O Muhammad) about

Dhūl Qarnain ……..”


( y7 tΡθè= t↔ó¡o„uρ Çtã Ç…….yρ”�9$# ⟨∩∇∈∪

“And they (i.e., the Rabbis of Yathrib) ask you (O Muhammad) concerning

the Rūh ………. “

(Qur’ān, Banū Isrāīl, 17.85)

The history of this mission to Yathrib, to which we now turn,

explains the connection between this Sūrah and the Jews.

Mission to Yathrib (Madina)

The Quraish decided to send a delegation comprising al-Nadr bin

al-Hārith and Uqba bin Abū Mu’ayt to Yathrib (now renamed Madīna

al-Nabi or, for short, Madīna), a city some 300 kilometers to the North



91

of Makkah, to consult with the Jewish Rabbis. They instructed the

delegation as follows:

“Ask them about Muhammad; describe him to them and tell them what he

says, for they are the first people of the scriptures and have knowledge that

we do not possess about Prophets.” (‘The Life of Muhammad’ – A Translation of Ibn Ishaq’s Sīrat Rasūl Allah. Translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Karachi, 1982. p. 136)

There was a large Jewish community in Madina and, as was well

known, Jews always had Prophets living in their midst. Indeed,

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had declared that there was never

a time, from the age of Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) to the age of Jesus

(‘alaihi al-Salām), when the Jews did not have a Prophet living in their

midst! The Quraish reasoned that since the Jews had such intimate

experience and vast knowledge about Prophets they would best be

able to advise them concerning the validity of the claim of

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) about prophethood.

In fact, Arabia also knew that the Jews had migrated to the

Arabian city of Yathrib because they expected a Prophet to come to

Yathrib. Indeed the Jews had been publicly proclaiming (literally

shouting from the mountain-tops) for many years: “A Prophet is

coming! A Prophet is coming! When he comes, he would be our Prophet. He

would empower us and we would overcome our enemies.” The Jews were

waiting, most of all, for the advent of a special Prophet who was

Divinely promised to them, and would be known as the Messiah (al-

Masīh). When they saw the spiritual signs that a Prophet was coming

to the world and that he would be coming to Yathrib, they naturally

concluded that he must be the Messiah. If he was not the Messiah then

he could be the Prophet ‘like unto Moses’ who was to come from the



92

‘brethren’ of the Israelite people, or he could be Elijah (known in the

Qur’ān as Illyās). His people had persecuted Elijah and he had

mysteriously ascended into heavens. In consequence, there arose the

belief that Elijah would one day return:

“. . And it came to pass, that when the Lord would take up Elijah into

heaven by a whirlwind, . . . . . . . and it came to pass as they still went on,

and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,

and parted them both asunder: and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into

heaven.”

(2 Kings: 2-11)

According to Malachi, God preserved Elijah alive to entrust him

at the end of time with a glorious mission (iv, 5-6) at the New

Testament period. This mission was believed to immediately precede

the advent of the Messiah (Matt., xvii, 10, 12; Mark, ix, 11).

The delegation of the Quraish approached the Jewish Rabbis of

Yathrib who were themselves awaiting a Prophet and had adequate

means with which to recognize and identify him. What was the criteria

by which the Jews could recognize the long-awaited Prophet? What

advice did they give to the delegation?

The Three Questions

The Jewish Rabbis of Yathrib advised the Quraish to ask three

questions to Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam):

“Ask him about three things of which we will instruct you; if he gives you the

right answer then he is an authentic Prophet, but if he does not, then the man

is a rogue, so form your own opin ion about him:



93

Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in ancient days,

for they have a marvelous story;

Ask him about the mighty traveler who reached the confines of both East and

West;

And ask him what is the spirit (Rūh)

If he can give you the answer then follow him, fo r he is a Prophet. If he

cannot, then he is a forger and treat him as you will. “

(Ibn Ishaq, ‘Sīrat Rasūl Allah’, Trans. A. Guillaume, Oxford Univ.

Press, Karachi, 1967. p. 136)

The Rabbis must certainly have been interested in the outcome of

the encounter with Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). They really

wanted to know his answers to the three questions. They would

certainly have been surprised if he was indeed a true Prophet, since

they believed that prophethood was their exclusive privilege. They

still believe to this day that no one after Abraham (peace be upon him)

could be a Prophet unless he was also a Jew. Why was this so?

Although Ishmael was also a son of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām) the

Torah has been corrupted to falsely proclaim that he was a “wild ass

of a man” and that he was excluded from the Covenant that Allah

Most High made with the seed of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām). Jews

believe in the corrupted rewritten Torah and hence considered it an

impossibility that a Prophet could arise from the seed of Ishmael

(‘alaihi al-Salām, - see our book entitled “The Religion of Abraham and

the State of Israel – A View from the Qur’ān”). Muhammad (sallalahu

‘alaihi wa sallam) was an Arab, and thus a descendent of Ishmael. That

would not have prevented them however, from showing some interest

in the outcome of the encounter. In any case when Muhammad

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) answered the questions the Quraish would

have to turn to them to discover whether the answers were true or



94

false.

The answers to the questions eventually came down in the

Qur’ān, but strangely enough, a Hadīth in Sahīh Bukhāri makes it

appear that the Rabbis must have concealed those answers from their

own people since some of them were still ignorant concerning the

answers. Years later, when the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had

himself migrated to Madina, some Jews approached him and asked

him the same third question (i.e., the Rūh). He responded by reciting

the Qur’ānic reply that Allah Most Wise had revealed years earlier.

However, the Hadīth strangely made it seem that it was revealed at

that time:

“Narrated Abdullah: While I was going with the Prophet through the ruins of

Madīna and he was reclining on a date-palm leaf stalk, some Jews passed by.

Some of them said to others: Ask him (the Prophet) about the Rūh (spirit).

Some of them said that they should not ask him that question as he might

give a reply that would displease them. But some of them insisted on asking,

and so one of them stood up and asked: O Abul-Qāsim! What is the Rūh

(spirit)? The Prophet remained quiet. I thought he was being inspired

Div inely. So I stayed till that state of the Prophet (while being inspired) was

over. The Prophet then recited:

“And they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the Rūh, Say: The Rūh is by

the Amr (command) of my Lord. And of knowledge you have been given

only a little” (Qur’ān, Banū Isrāīl, 17.85).

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

This alleged Hadīth appears to qualify as deliberate

disinformation, and its purpose appears to be to confuse. Ibn Ishāq

narrates the same incident differently. He quotes Abdullah ibn Abbās

to the effect that it was the Jewish Rabbis of Yathrib (i.e., Madina)



95

themselves who approached the Prophet after his arrival in that city

and questioned him:

I was told on the authority of Ibn Abbas that he said, when the Apostle came

to Madina, the Jewish Rabbis asked him: “When you said - and you have

only a litt le knowledge about it - did you mean us or your own people?” He

said, “Both of you.”

(Ibn Ishāq, Op. Cit., p. 139)

The fact that the Rabbis questioned the Prophet concerning the

answer to the question about the spirit (Rūh) confirms that the

revelation with the answer to the question had come down previously

and that it had already reached them in Madīna prior to the Prophet’s

arrival in that city.

Upon the return of the delegation to Makkah, the Quraish

approached the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), posed the three

questions to him, and challenged him to answer them correctly if he

was indeed a Prophet! The Prophet paused for a moment and then

declared that he would answer the questions the next day, but he

forgot to say ‘If God so Wills’ (i.e., Inshā Allah) (Ibn Ishaq, Op. Cit., p.

136).

This writer is of the opinion that Allah Most Wise may have

caused the Prophet to forget to say Inshā Allah, and as a consequence

the expression Inshā Allah occupies a position of strategic importance

in the subject of Sūrah al-Kahf and the Modern Age. What is that

importance?

Our opinion is that Allah Most Wise directed attention to an age

that would come when sacred (or religious) terminology such as Inshā

Allah (i.e., “if God so Wills”, or “please God”) would disappear from



96

the vocabulary used by the modern tongue; and that when such a thing

were to come to pass it would be a sign by which believers could

recognize such an age to pose the greatest of all trials for mankind.

This book warns that “Inshā Allah” is already fast disappearing from

the vocabulary of the modern tongue!

The Quraish approached Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) the

next day for the answers that he had promised them. He did not have

the answers since Angel Gabriel (‘alaihi al-Salām) had not visited him to

convey the answers. When this continued for a few days it became a

matter of severe embarrassment for the Muslims and of rejoicing for

the Quraish. Indeed it took two weeks before Angel Gabriel (‘alaihi al-

Salām) finally appeared and Allah Most High responded to the

questions by revealing Sūrah al-Kahf. Ibn Ishaq comments on the

matter as follows:

“This delay caused the Apostle great sorrow, until Gabriel brought him the

Chapter of the Cave (Sūrah al-Kahf), in which he reproaches him for his

sadness, and told him the answers of their questions, the youths, the mighty

traveler, and the spirit.”

(Ibn Ishāq, op. cit., p. 137)

The answers to two of the questions are in Sūrah al-Kahf. While

the third answer, concerning the Rūh (i.e., spirit), is in Sūratu Banī

Isrāīl (Chapter 17 of the Qur’ān).

Maulāna Abul ‘Ala Maudūdī (rahimahullah), the eminent scholar of

Islam, eliminated the question concerning the Rūh from the three

questions and instead made the claim that the third of the three

questions pertained to someone named Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) whose



97

mystical encounter with Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) was described in Sūrah

al-Kahf:

“This Sūrah was sent down in answer to the three questions which the

polytheists of Makkah, in consultation with the people of the Book, had put

to the Holy Prophet in order to test him. These were: Who were ‘the Sleepers

of the Cave’? What is the real story of Khidr? What do you know about Dhūl

Qarnain?”

(Maudūdī, English Translation of ‘Tafheem al-Qur’ān’, “Introduction to

Sūrah al-Kahf”.)

It appears that the learned Maulāna wished to have all three

questions answered in Sūrah al-Kahf, and this, perhaps, was the

reason why he excluded the question concerning the spirit (Rūh) and

replaced it with the story of Moses and Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām). The

assertion by Maulana Maududi is, however, quite problematic since it

would have been highly unlikely that the Jewish Rabbis would have

considered the knowledge of a story such as that of Khidr (‘alaihi al-

Salām) to be proof of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) prophethood.

After all, Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) demonstrated that Moses (‘alaihi al-

Salām) was wrong in his understanding of all three events narrated in

the story, and Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) was regarded as the Prophet par

excellence of the Jews. If the Jews regarded the knowledge of Khidr

(‘alaihi al-Salām) to be proof of prophethood then they would have had

to locate and follow a Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) who was blessed with

internal intuitive spiritual knowledge. But instead they have always

clung to external legalistic knowledge derived from the Torah as their

basic requirement for survival and success throughout history. We are

not convinced by Maulāna Maudūdī’s claim on this matter.



98

The fact that Allah Most Wise chose to place answers to two of

the questions in Sūrh al-Kahf, while placing the answer to the third

question in Sūratu Banī Isrāīl indicates that these two Sūrahs of the

Qur’ān are linked together and must be studied together. The one

helps to explain the other. We have noted that Sūrah al-Kahf must be

read every Yoūm al-Jum’ah (i.e., Friday) for protection from al-Masīh

al-Dajjāl, the false Messiah, who would target and deceive the Jews

and lead them to their ultimate destruction. We have also noted that

Sūrah al-Kahf was revealed in response to the Jewish test of

prophethood that the Rabbis had given to the pagan Arabs. This was in

response to their request for a test by which the validity of the claim to

prophethood of Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) could be

determined. And so, it is not surprising that Sūrah al-Kahf is linked to

that Sūrah of the Qur’ān that is named after the Jews. In fact, this

constitutes the third link between Sūrah al-Kahf and the Jews.

The (Jewish) Rabbis in Madina had declared that they would

recognize Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) as a true Prophet of the

God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām) if he correctly answered the three

questions posed to him. Only a true Prophet with special knowledge

could be privy to such knowledge. The Rabbis were privy to that

knowledge because of the long and continuous line of Prophets who

had come to the Israelites. They were confident that Muhammad

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) could not answer the questions and hence

they admitted no possibility that they might have to accept an illiterate

gentile Arab as a true Prophet of the God of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām).

A careful examination of the questions reveal that the Rabbis

were testing Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and that

they were not interested in simple answers to the questions they had



99

posed. Rather they cloaked (or veiled) the real questions behind the

ones that they posed. What were those real questions?

We believe that the Rabbis posed the questions cunningly with

the objective of determining whether Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu

‘alaihi wa sallam) had knowledge about Dajjāl and about Y’ajūj (Gog)

and M’ajūj (Magog). These were powerful and dangerous Beings

whom Allah Most High had created, and whom He would release into

the world in the Last Age. When Allah Most High released these

Beings He would use them to test as well as to punish mankind. The

only ones who could successfully survive those tests and trials of the

Last Age would be those who had faith in Allah Most High, and in the

true religion of Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām), and who faithfully followed

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). All the rest of mankind

would be deceived, or would otherwise lose faith. An essentially

godless global society that would emerge in consequence of the

‘globalization’ of the Last Age would swallow such people and carry

them into the hell-fire! The Prophet warned that Gog and Magog

would transform 999 out of every 1000 of mankind into godless

copies of themselves (Ahlu Y’ajūj wa M’ajūj) and that they would all

enter into the hell-fire (Sahīh Bukhāri).

Instead of asking directly about Dajjāl the Rabbis asked about

some young men of old who fled into a cave and had a miraculous

experience. Then instead of asking directly about Y’ajūj and M’ajūj,

they asked about a great traveler who traveled to the two ends of the

earth. The third question, which concerned the Rūh (spirit), was

strategically different from the other two. It was a direct question, and

hence its strategic role appears to have been one of creating confusion.



100

The three answers to the questions - the Rūh

The question concerning the Rūh was quite tricky. The human

soul or spirit is known as Rūh. So too is the Rūh al-Quddus or the

Angel Gabriel. Finally when Allah declared that He had breathed into

man of His Rūh, the implication was that He, also, possessed a Divine

Spirit (Rūh). Allah Most High revealed the answer to the third

question in the Qur’ān as follows:

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ÉΟù= Ïèø9$# āωÎ) WξŠ Ï=s% ∩∇∈∪ ⟨

“And they question thee (Oh Muhammad) concerning the Rūh (Spirit). Say:

The Rūh (Spirit) is by command of my Lord, and you have been granted only

litt le knowledge (i.e., of this subject).”


Since the question was direct, the answer was similarly direct.

But all three possibilities mentioned above were simultaneously

addressed in the terse answer. The question was summarily dismissed.

This answer reached the Jews in Madina, and when the Prophet

himself migrated to Madina the Jews questioned him about the

answer. They wanted to know who was the revelation referring to

when it declared “and of knowledge ye have been given but little? Was it

us, the Jews, or they, the Arabs, who have been given little knowledge?

Both, answered the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)”.

It is significant that the above answer was placed by Divine



101

decree in Sūratu Banī Isrāīl (the seventeenth Sūrah of the Qur’ān)

whereas the answers to the other two questions were placed, again by

Divine decree, in the next Sūrah, i.e., Sūrah al-Kahf.

Thus Divine Wisdom recognized that there was a strategic

difference between the first question and the other two questions, and

conveyed to the Jews, as well as to all others, through this simple

device, the recognition of that strategic difference. What was the

difference?

- the great traveler

When the Sūrah responded to the second question concerning the

great traveler it did so in a manner that immediately and directly

addressed the question by naming the great traveler as Dhūl Qarnain.

Not only did the Sūrah describe his journeys to the East and West but,

astonishingly, it went on to directly address the real question which

lurked behind the posed question, namely Y’ajūj (Gog) and M’ajūj

(Magog). It did so by describing a third journey – concerning which

the Rabbis had remained suspiciously silent. It is quite clear that the

real target of the question was Gog and Magog who are one of the

major signs of the Last Day (al-Qiyāmah). This was surely a subject

about which only a Prophet would have knowledge. The question was

one that approached its target indirectly. In this respect, it differed

from the question concerning the Rūh.

- the young men and the cave

Sūrah al-Kahf commenced with an answer to the above question.

The answer was worded in such a way that it responded directly and in

detail to the specific question which was posed, but only indirectly to



102

the real question veiled behind it. That real question could only be on

a subject, like Gog and Magog that only a Prophet would know.

Secondly, it is most likely that it would also be a subject

concerning the signs of the Last Day (al-Qiyāmah). What could be the

real target of the question?

The answer in Sūrah al-Kahf provided detailed information

concerning the young men who fled to the cave. Yet, although there is

clear evidence that the answer took account of Dajjāl the false

Messiah or Anti-Christ, it did not directly address Dajjāl. It stopped

short of naming him by name. The Rabbis were left guessing. Indeed

Dajjāl is never mentioned directly anywhere in the Qur’ān since the

Divine intent was the keep the Jews guessing. In fact, the answer had

matched the question in respect of sheer strategy.

Years later, after the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had

migrated to Madina, he addressed the subject of Dajjāl in quite some

detail and then startled the Jews by declaring that the recitation of the

first ten Āyāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Kahf would provide believers with

protection from the terrible tests and trials of Dajjāl. The first ten

Āyāt included the opening verses of the story of the young men and

the cave. Prophet Muhammad also clearly established the fact that

Dajjāl would emerge as a Jew and that he was already released into

the world. He did this when he publicly voiced his suspicion that a

young Jew in Madina (Ibn Sayyād) was Dajjāl.

In answering this question in the manner in which it did, the

Qur’ān gave notice that He who had provided an accurate yet brief

answer to the question concerning the great traveler, also knew the

real target of the question concerning the young men and the cave,



103

namely Dajjāl.

Let us briefly restate the differences in the questions and answers:

1st Question: The target of the question, i.e., the Rūh or spirit, is

directly addressed, although it is a tricky question. In answering the

question Allah Most High refers to both the question as well as to

those who asked the question: “And they ask thee concerning . . . .”

The answer is placed in Sūrah Banū Isrāīl.

2nd Question: The target of the question (Gog and Magog) is not

directly addressed. It is concealed. Hence the answer is placed in a

different Sūrah, namely Sūrah al-Kahf. In answering the question

Allah Most High refers to both the question as well as to those who

asked the question: “And they ask thee concerning . . . .”

Although the real target of the question is concealed, Allah Most High

chooses to address it directly and to identify that target as Gog and

Magog whose release into the world would constitute a major Sign of

the Last Day.

3rd Question: The third answer, like the second, is placed in Sūrah al-

Kahf. This indicates a similarity with the second question and

dissimilarity with the first. Hence we conclude that the real target of

the third question, like that of the second, is concealed. What can it be

other than a subject similar to Gog and Magog?

In answering the third question Allah Most High neither refers to the

question nor to those who asked the question. He does not say: “And

they ask thee concerning . . . .” This cannot be by accident. In

answering the third question Allah Most High chose to let the target of

the question, i.e., Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ, remain



104

unmentioned. It was left to the Messenger of Allah to identify that

target when he established a link between Sūrah al-Kahf and Dajjāl

the false Messiah or Anti-Christ.



105

CHAPTER FIVE

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG MEN AND THE CAVE

“Ask him what happened to the young men who disappeared in

ancient days, for they had a marvelous story?” This was one of the

three questions posed by the Jewish Rabbis of Madina. They declared

with confidence to the delegation of the Quraish from Makkah that if

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) could answer the three questions

correctly it would then be confirmed that he was, indeed, a true

Prophet of the God of Abraham, for only a Prophet could answer these

questions correctly.

The answers to the three questions were all divinely revealed and

the answer in response to the above question is located in verses 9 –

25 of Surāh al-Kahf of the Qur’ān.

The following is the Arabic text and English translation of those

verses with such brief explanatory comments as are necessary for an

initial understanding of the text. The story commences at verse nine

and concludes at verse twenty-six. The translation is that of

Muhammad Asad. Our own comments are in italics:

Verse 9

ôΘr& |M ö6Å¡xm ¨βr& |=≈ysô¹r& É#ôγs3ø9$# ÉΟŠ Ï%§�9$#uρ (#θçΡ% x. ô ÏΒ $uΖÏF≈ tƒ#u

$ �6pg xå ∩∪ ⟨



106

“(And since the life of this world is but a test) do you (really) think that (the

parable of) the Men of the Cave (which we now relate in answer to the

question of the Jewish rabbis) and of (their devotion) to the scriptures (which

they, perhaps, took with them into the cave) could be deemed more wondrous

than any (other) of Our messages? (This Qur’ān which is now being revealed

to you is a greater Sign!).”

Verse 10

øŒ Î) “uρ r& èπu‹÷FÏ& ø9$# ’ n< Î) É#ôγ s3ø9$# (#θä9$ s)sù !$ uΖ−/u‘ $ uΖÏ?#u ÏΒ y7Ρà$ ©! ZπuΗ ÷qu‘

ø⋅ Äh÷yδuρ $ sΨ s9 ô ÏΒ $ tΡÍ� øΒ r& #Y‰x©u‘ ∩⊇⊃∪ ⟨ “When those youths took refuge in the cave, they prayed, O our Sustainer!

Bestow on us Grace from Thyself, and endow us, whatever our (outward)

condition, with consciousness of what is right (and grant us a way out of this

trial of ours in which the godless world is waging war on Islam).”

Verses 11 & 12

$ sΨ ö/u�|Øsù #’ n?tã öΝÎγ ÏΡ#sŒ#u ’ Îû É#ôγs3ø9$# šÏΖÅ™ #YŠ y‰tã ∩⊇⊇∪ ⟨ ¢ΟèO

öΝ ßγ≈uΖ÷Vyè t/ zΟn= ÷èuΖÏ9 ‘“r& È÷t/÷“ Ït ù: $# 4 |Âômr& $yϑ Ï9 (#ûθèWÎ6s9 #Y‰tΒ r& ∩⊇⊄∪ ⟨

“And thereupon We veiled their ears in the cave for many a year, (they were

thus cut off from the outside world). and then We awakened them; (and We

did all this) so that We might mark out (to the world) which of the two points

of view showed a better comprehension of the time-span during which they

had remained in that state. (Indeed the very essence of the lesson which is

divinely taught in this narration, and which unfolds in this essay, is that

‘time’ is not simple and uni-dimensional, but rather complex and multi-

dimensional. There is a multi-dimensional movement of ‘time’ as it passes



107

through the ages, and in that passage of ‘time’ only those with faith in Allah

Most High, and whose conduct is righteous, survive; all others end up in the

garbage bin of history. See Qur’ān, al-‘Asr, 103:1-3.)”

Verses 13 - 15

ßøt ªΥ �Èà) tΡ y7 ø‹ n=tã Ν èδr' t7tΡ Èd,ysø9$$ Î/ 4 öΝåκ®ΞÎ) îπu‹ ÷FÏù (#θãΖtΒ#u óΟÎγÎn/u� Î/

óΟßγ≈tΡôŠ Î— uρ “Y‰èδ ∩⊇⊂∪ $ sΨ ôÜt/u‘ uρ 4’n?tã óΟÎγ Î/θè= è% øŒ Î) (#θãΒ$ s% (#θä9$ s)sù $ uΖš/u‘

�>u‘ ÏN uθ≈ yϑ ¡¡9$# ÇÚ ö‘F{$#uρ s9 (#uθãã ô‰‾Ρ ÏΒ ÿ ÏµÏΡρßŠ $ Yγ≈s9Î) ( ô‰s) ©9 !$ sΨ ù=è%

#]Œ Î) $ ¸ÜsÜx© ∩⊇⊆∪ ÏIωàσ‾≈yδ $ sΨãΒ öθs% (#ρä‹sƒ ªB $# ÏΒ ÿÏµÏΡρ ßŠ Zπyγ Ï9#u ( Ÿωöθ©9

šχθè?ù' tƒ ΟÎγøŠ n=tæ ¤≈sÜù= Ý¡Î0 & Îit/ ( ôyϑ sù ãΝn= øßr& Ç £ϑ ÏΒ 3“u�yIøù$# ’n?tã «!$#

$ \/É‹x. ∩⊇∈∪

“(And now) We shall truly relate to thee their story. Behold, they were young

men who had attained to faith in their Lord-God (and, in consequence of the

manner in which they responded to the trial to their faith posed by the world

which was waging war on Islam) We deepened their consciousness of the

right way and endowed their hearts with strength (and courage), so that they

stood up and said (to one another, i.e., publicly proclaimed in an act of

defiance of a godless world): Our Lord-God is the God of the heavens and

the earth. Never shall we invoke any deity other than Him: (They thus

rejected sovereignty other than Allah’s). If we did (such a thing) we should

indeed have uttered an enormity (it would, indeed, constitute blasphemy!)

These people of ours have taken to worshipping (other) deities instead of

Him, without being able to adduce any reasonable evidence in support of

their beliefs; and who could be more wicked than he who invents a lie about

Allah (or who concocts a falsehood concering Allah by issuing, for example,

a command to submit to the authority of the modern secular nation-state)?”



108

Verse 16

ÏŒ Î) uρ öΝèδθßϑ çGø9u”yI ôã$# $ tΒuρ šχρ ß‰ç6÷ètƒ āωÎ) ©!$# (#ÿ… ãρù' sù ’ n< Î) É#ôγs3ø9$#

ö�à³⊥tƒ öΝä3s9 Ν ä3š/u‘ ÏiΒ ÏµÏGyϑ ôm§‘ ø⋅ Äh÷yγãƒuρ /ä3s9 ô ÏiΒ /ä.Í� øΒ r& $ Z)sùö� ÏiΒ ∩⊇∉∪ ⟨

“Hence, now that you have withdrawn from them and from all that they

worship instead of Allah, take refuge in that cave; Allah will spread His grace

over you, and will endow you – whatever your (outward) condition – with all

that your souls may need! “(The young men then advised each other as

follows: When you decide that it is time to escape from them, i.e., the world of

Shirk, and from all that they worship instead of Allah, go to the Cave for

shelter. Allah will extend His Mercy and Grace over you and will dispose of

your affair for you kindly and gently so that you will have comfort and

ease).”

Verse 17

“u� s?uρ }§ôϑ¤±9$# #sŒ Î) Myè n=sÛ â‘uρ u“ ¨? tã óΟÎγÏ& ôγx. šV#sŒ ÈÏϑ u‹ø9$#

#sŒ Î) uρ M t/{�xî öΝ åκÝÎÍ�ø) ¨? |N#sŒ ÉΑ$ yϑÏe±9$# öΝèδuρ ’ Îû ;ο uθôfsù çµ÷ΖÏiΒ 4 y7 Ï9 sŒ

ô ÏΒ ÏM≈tƒ#u «!$# 3 tΒ Ï‰÷κu‰ ª!$# uθßγ sù Ï‰tGôγ ßϑø9$# ( ∅tΒ uρ ö≅Ï= ôÒãƒ n=sù

y‰Åg rB … çµs9 $ w‹ Ï9uρ #Y‰Ï©ó÷‘∆ ∩⊇∠∪

“And (for many a year) thou might have seen the sun, on its rising, incline

away from their cave on the right, and, on its setting, turn aside from them on

the left, while they lived on in that spacious chamber, (bearing witness to)

this of Allah’s messages: He whom Allah guides, he alone has found the

right way: whereas for him whom He lets go astray thou canst never find any

protector who would point out the right way.”



109

Verse 18

öΝ åκâ:|¡øt rB uρ $ Wß$ s) ÷ƒr& öΝ èδuρ ×Šθè%â‘ 4 öΝßγ ç6Ïk=s) çΡuρ |N#sŒ ÈÏϑu‹ ø9$# |N#sŒ uρ

ÉΑ$ yϑÏe±9$# ( Οßγ ç6ù=x.uρ ÔÝÅ¡≈ t/ ÏµøŠ tã#u‘ ÏŒ Ï‰ŠÏ¹uθø9$$ Î/ 4 Èθs9 |M ÷èn= ©Û$# öΝ Îκö�n= tã

|M ø‹©9uθs9 óΟßγ ÷ΨÏΒ #Y‘#u� Ïù |Mø⁄ Ï= ßϑs9uρ öΝ åκ÷]ÏΒ $ Y6ôã â‘ ∩⊇∇∪ ⟨

“And thou wouldst have thought that they were awake, whereas they lay

asleep. (You would have thought that they were awake because) We caused

them to turn over repeatedly, now to the right, now to the left.

(The young believers chose to keep with them a dog for protection. And that

dog, also, was with them in the cave) and their dog (lay) on the threshold, its

forepaws outstretched. Had you come upon them (unprepared), you would

surely have turned away from them in flight, and would surely have been

filled with fear of them.”

Verses 19 & 20

y7Ï9 x‹Ÿ2 uρ óΟßγ≈sΨ ÷W yèt/ (#θä9u!$ |¡tGuŠ Ï9 öΝ æηuΖ÷� t/ 4 tΑ$s% ×≅Í← !$s% öΝ åκ÷]ÏiΒ öΝ Ÿ2

óΟçFø[Î6s9 ( (#θä9$ s% $ uΖø[Î7 s9 $ �Β öθtƒ ÷ρr& uÙ÷èt/ 5Θöθtƒ 4 (#θä9$ s% öΝ ä3š/u‘ ÞΟn= ôã r& $ yϑÎ/

óΟçFø[Î6s9 (#ûθèW yèö/$$ sù Ν à2y‰xmr& öΝä3Ï%Í‘ uθÎ/ ÿ ÏνÉ‹≈ yδ ’n< Î) ÏπsΨƒÏ‰yϑ ø9$# ö� ÝàΖuŠ ù=sù

!$ pκš‰ r& 4‘x.ø— r& $ YΒ$ yèsÛ Νà6 Ï?ù' uŠù= sù 5− ø— Í�Î/ çµ÷Ψ ÏiΒ ô#©Ün= tGuŠ ø9uρ Ÿωuρ ¨βu� Ïèô±ç„

öΝ à6Î/ #‰xmr& ∩⊇∪ ⟨ öΝåκ®ΞÎ) βÎ) (#ρ ã� yγøàtƒ ö/ä3ø‹ n=tæ óΟä.θßϑ ã_ö�tƒ ÷ρr&

öΝ à2ρß‰‹Ïè ãƒ ’ Îû öΝÎγ ÏF‾= ÏΒ s9uρ (#ûθßsÏ= ø&è? #�Œ Î) #Y‰t/r& ∩⊄⊃∪ ⟨



110

“And so, (in the course of time) We awakened them: And they began to ask

one another (as to what had happened to them). One of them asked; “how

long have you remained thus?” (The others) answered: “We have remained

thus for a day, or part of a day.” (Those who were endowed with deeper

insight) said: “Your Sustainer knows best how long you have thus remained.

(And because they must have been famished with hunger they went on to

declare): Let, then, one of you go with these silver coins to the town, and let

him find out what food is purest there, and bring you thereof (some)

provisions (that you might satisfy your hunger). But let him behave with

great care and by no means make anyone aware of you: For, behold, if they

should come to know of you they might stone you (or curse, revile, abuse

you) and even force you back to their faith – in which case you would never

attain to any good!”

Verse 21

y7 Ï9 x‹Ÿ2uρ $ tΡö�nY ôãr& öΝ Îκö�n= tã (#ûθßϑ n=÷è u‹Ï9 āχr& y‰ôãuρ «!$# A, xm ¨βr& uρ

sπtã$¡¡9$# Ÿω |= ÷ƒu‘ !$ yγŠÏù øŒ Î) tβθãã u“≈sΨ oKtƒ öΝ æηuΖ÷� t/ öΝèδu� øΒ r& ( (#θä9$ s) sù (#θãΖö/$#

Ν Îκö�n= tã $ YΖ≈ u‹÷Ζç/ ( öΝßγ š/§‘ ãΜn= ôãr& óΟÎγÎ/ 4 tΑ$s% šÏ% ©!$# (#θç7 n= yñ #’ n?tã öΝ ÏδÍ� øΒr&

āχx‹Ï‚−GsΨ s9 Ν Îκö�n= tã #Y‰Åfó¡Β ∩⊄⊇∪ ⟨

“And in this way have we drawn (people’s) attention to their story (i.e., to the

historic event), so that they might know (for certain when they reflect over

the event) – whenever they debate among themselves as to what happened to

those (men of the cave) – that Allah’s promise (of resurrection and of a time

of great evil and trials which is to come, i.e., the age of Fitan when Dajjāl

would be released) is true, and that there can be no doubt as to (the coming

of) the Last Hour. And so, some (people) said: “Erect a building in their

memory; Allah knows best what happened to them.” Those whose opinion



111

prevailed in the end said: “Indeed, we must surely raise a Masjid (i.e., a

house of worship) in their memory!” (It is thus permissible to erect a building

in memory of a pious servant of Allah and one may even build a Masjid in

memory o f such a believer.)

Verse 22

tβθä9θà) u‹y™ ×πsW≈n=rO óΟßγ ãèÎ/#§‘ óΟßγ ç6ù= x. šχθä9θà) tƒuρ ×π|¡÷Η s~ öΝ åκÞbÏŠ$y™

öΝ åκâ:ù= x. $ NΗød u‘ É=ø‹ tóø9$$ Î/ ( šχθä9θà) tƒuρ ×πyèö7 y™ öΝåκß]ÏΒ$ rOuρ öΝåκâ: ù= Ÿ2 4 ≅è%

þ’ Ïn1§‘ ãΝn= ÷ær& ΝÎκÌE £‰Ïè/ $ ¨Β öΝßγ ßϑn= ÷ètƒ āωÎ) ×≅‹ Ï=s% 3 Ÿξsù Í‘$ yϑ è? öΝÎκ�Ïù āωÎ) [!#z÷É∆

#X� Îγ≈ sß Ÿωuρ ÏMø& tGó¡n@ ΟÎγŠÏù óΟßγ ÷Ψ ÏiΒ #Y‰xmr& ∩⊄⊄∪ ⟨

“(When this story is narrated by the Jewish Rabbis, as well as others in times

to come) some will say, “(They were) three, the fourth of them being their

dog,” while others will say, “five, with their dog as the sixth of them” – id ly

guessing at something of which they can have no certain knowledge – and (so

on, until) some will say, “(They were) seven, the eighth of them being their

dog.” Say (to them, if and when they confront you on this issue): “My

Sustainer knows best how many they were. None but a few have any (real)

knowledge of them (and those few do not include the Jewish Rabbis of

Madina who posed the question). Hence, do not argue about them otherwise

than by way of an obvious argument, and do not ask any of those (story-

tellers) to enlighten thee about them (since they have already distorted and

corrupted the story).”

Verses 23 & 24



112

Ÿωuρ £ s9θà)s? >ô“($ t±Ï9 ’ÏoΤÎ) ×≅Ïã$ sù y7 Ï9 sŒ #‰xî ∩⊄⊂∪ HωÎ) βr& u!$ t±o„ ª!$#

� ä.øŒ $#uρ y7 −/§‘ #sŒ Î) |MŠÅ¡nΣ ö≅è%uρ #|¤tã βr& Ç tƒÏ‰ôγtƒ ’ Ïn1u‘ z>u�ø%{ ô ÏΒ

#x‹≈yδ #Y‰x©u‘ ∩⊄⊆∪

“And never say about anything, “Behold, I shall do this tomorrow,” without

(adding), “If Allah so wills.” And if you should ever forget (to do so, and

become aware of it later, as occurred to the Prophet in this instance) call thy

Lord-God to mind and say; “I pray that my Lord-God guide me, ever closer

than this to a consciousness of what is right!”

Verse 25

(#θèW Î6s9uρ ’ Îû óΟÎγÏ& ôγx. y]≈n= rO 7πsf($ ÏΒ šÏΖÅ™ (#ρßŠ#yŠ ø—$#uρ $ Yè ó¡Ï@ ∩⊄∈∪ ⟨

“And (some people assert), they remained in their cave three hundred years”:

and some have added nine (to that number since 300 solar years would be

equivalent to 309 lunar years).”

Verse 26

È≅è% ª!$# ãΝ n= ÷ær& $ yϑ Î/ (#θèVÎ6s9 ( … çµs9 Ü= ø‹ xî ÏN uθ≈ yϑ¡¡9$# ÇÚö‘ F{$#uρ ( ö�ÅÇö/r&

ÏµÎ/ ôìÏϑó™r& uρ 4 $ tΒ Οßγs9 ÏiΒ ÏµÏΡρ ßŠ ÏΒ 5c’ Í< uρ Ÿωuρ à8 Î�ô³ç„ ’ Îû ÿ ÏµÏϑõ3ãm

#Y‰xmr& ∩⊄∉∪ ⟨

“Say: Allah knows best how long they remained (there). His (alone) is the

knowledge of the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth: how well does



113

He see and hear! No guardians have they apart from Him, since He allots to

no one a share in His rule. (Nor does He share His Supreme authority with

anyone!)”

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 9-26)

This reply of Sūrah al-Kahf concerning the young men was

transmitted to the Rabbis in Madina. From that day to this day more

than 1400 years have passed, but to the best of our knowledge Jewish

scholars have yet to comment on the answer.

This book extends an invitation to the entire world of Jewish

scholarship to respond to the answer to their question provided in

Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān.

Synopsis of story and significance for our age

Muhammad Asad has commented on the Surah and his

comments reveal a deep understanding of the very essence of both the

Surah as well as the story of the young men and the cave. We quote

him at length so that our readers who are unfamiliar with his great

work may be introduced to it and may benefit not only from his

comments but also from the entire translation:

This Sūrah – revealed immediately before al-Nahl (the Bee,) i.e, in the last

year of the Makkah period - is almost entirely devoted to a series of parables

or allegories built around the theme of faith in Allah Most High vs an undue

attachment to the life of this world; and the key-phrase of the whole Sūrah is

a statement in v. 7, “We have willed that all beauty on earth be a means by

which we put men to a test” – an idea that is most clearly formulated in the

parable of the rich man and the poor man (vs. 32-44).

The story of the Men of the Cave - from which the Sūrah takes its title -



114

illustrates (in vs. 13-20) the principle of world-abandonment for the sake of

faith, and is deepened into an allegory of death, resurrection and spiritual

awakening. In the story of Moses and the unnamed sage (vs. 60-82), the

theme of spiritual awaken ing undergoes a significant variation: it is shifted to

the plane of mans’ intellectual life and his search after ultimate truths.

Appearance and reality are shown to be intrinsically different – so different

that only mystic insight can reveal to us what is apparent and what is real.

And, finally, the allegory of Dhu al-Qarnain, “The Two – Horned One”, tells

us that world’s renunciation is not in itself a necessary complement to one’s

faith in Allah Most High; in other words, world ly life and power need not

conflict with spiritual righteousness so long as we remain conscious of the

ephemeral nature of all works of man and of our ultimate responsibility to

Him Who is above all limitations of time and appearance. And so the Sūrah

ends with the words, “Hence, whoever looks forward to meeting his Sustainer

let him do righteous deeds, and let him not ascribe unto anyone or anything a

share in the worship due to his Sustainer.

. . . As regards the story of the men in the cave as such, of the Men of the

Cave as such, most of the commentators incline to the view that it relates to a

phase in early Christian history – namely, the persecution of the Christians by

Emperor Decius in the third century. Legend has it that some young

Christians of Ephesus, accompanied by their dog, withdrew into a secluded

cave in order to be ab le to live in accordance with their faith, and remained

there, miraculously asleep, for a great length of time (according to some

accounts, referred to in v. 25 of this Sūrah, for about three centuries). When

they finally awoke - unaware of the long time during which they had lain

asleep - they sent one of their company to the town to purchase some food.

In the meantime the situation had changed entirely : Christianity was no

longer persecuted and had even become the official religion of the Roman

Empire. The ancient coin (dating from the reign of Decius) with which the

young man wanted to pay for his purchases immediately aroused curiosity;

people began to question the stranger, and the story of the Men of the Cave

and their miraculous sleep came to light.



115

As already mentioned, the majority of the classical commentators relied on

this Christian legend in their endeavour to interpret the Qur’anic reference (in

v. 9:26) to the Men of the Cave. It seems, however, that the Christian

formulat ion of this theme is a later development of a much older oral

tradition - a tradition which, in fact, goes back to pre-Christian, Jewish

sources. This is evident from several well- authenticated ahadīth (mentioned

by all the classical commentators), according to which it was the Jewish

rabbis (Ahbār) of Madina who induced the Meccan opponents of Muhammad

to “test his veracity” by asking him to exp lain, among other problems, the

story of the Men of the Cave. Referring to these ahadīth, Ibn Kathīr remarks

in his commentary to v. 13 of this Sura, “It has been said that they were

followers of Jesus the son of Mary, but Allah knows it better; it is obvious

that they lived much earlier than the Christian period - for, had they been

Christian, why should the Jewish rabbis have been intent on preserving their

story, seeing that the Jews had cut themselves off from all friendly

communion with them (i.e. the Christians)?” We may therefore safely assume

that the legend of the Men of the Cave – stripped of its Christian garb and the

superimposed Christian background – is of substantial Jewish origin. If we

discard the later syncretic additions and reduce the story to its fundamentals –

voluntary withdrawal from the world, age-long “sleep” in a secluded cave

and a miraculous “awakening” after an indeterminate period of time – we

have before us a striking allegory relating to a movement which played an

important role in Jewish religious history during the centuries immediately

preceeding and following the advent of Jesus, namely the ascetic Essene

Brotherhood (to which Jesus himself may have belonged), and particularly

those of its branches which lived in self-imposed solitude in the vicinity of

the Dead Sea as has recently, after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls,

come to be known as the “Qumrun community”. The expression ar-Raqīm

occurring in the above Qur’ān verse (and rendered by me as “scriptures”)

lends strong support to this theory. As recorded by Tabari, some of the

earliest authorities – and particularly Ibn Abbas – regarded the expression as

synonymous with marqām (“something that is written”) and hence with Kitāb



116

(“a writ” or “a scripture”); and Razi adds that “all rhetoricians and Arabic

plilologists assert that ar-raqīm signifies [the same as] al-kitāb”. Since it is

historically established that the members of the Qumrān community – the

strictest group among the Essenes – devoted themselves entirely to the study,

the copying and the preservation of the sacred scriptures, lived in complete

seclusion from the rest of the world and were h ighly admired for their piety

and moral purity, it is more than probable that their mode of life made so

strong an impression on the imagination of their fellow co-relig ionists that it

became gradually allegorized in the story of the Men in the Cave who “slept”

– that is, were cut off from the outside world – for countless years, destined

to be “awakened” after their spiritual task was done.

But whatever the source of this legend, and irrespective of whether it is of

Jewish or Christian origin, the fact remains that it is used in the Qur’ān in a

purely parabolic sense: namely, as an illustration of Allah’s power to bring

about death (or “sleep”) and resurrection (or “awakening”); and, secondly, as

an allegory of the piety that induces men to abandon a wicked or frivolous

world in order to keep their faith unsullied, and of Allah’s recognition of that

faith by His bestowal of a spiritual awakening which transcends time and

death.

(Muhammad Asad’s Translation and Commentary of the Glorious Qur’ān. pp. 437-439)

We noted above that Ibn Kathīr, the commentator of the Qur’ān,

disputed the generally held view that the young men in the cave were

Christian and held the view that they lived much earlier than the

Christian period. Had they been Christians, he asked, why would the

Jewish Rabbis have been intent on preserving their story? And we

may add for good measure, why would they have considered

knowledge of their story to be a criterion that could authenticate a

claim to prophethood? After all, the Jews had rejected Jesus (‘alaihi al-

Salām) as the Messiah, and as a Prophet. They considered him to have



117

been an imposter, a liar, and a bastard child (and we seek refuge with

Allah from such blasphemous statements). It is obvious, therefore, that

the young men must have belonged to Banū Isrāīl.

Time and again in history the Israelite people betrayed Allah by

blaspheming against Him. This sin of blasphemy is referred to in the

Qur’ān as Shirk. Thus, when Moses went up the mountain for his

meeting with Allah Most High, they worshipped a golden calf in his

absence. This story in Sūrah al-Kahf appears to relate to another such

time since the young men referred to “our people” when they said:

These, our people, have taken for worship Gods other than Him (i.e.,

Allah). Not only did that age witness widespread blasphemy (Shirk),

but also those who resisted the blasphemy (Shirk) were intimidated

and persecuted. This was quite clear from the fact that the youths had

kept a dog with them for protection: . . . and their dog lay on the

threshold (of the cave) with its forepaws outstretched, as also from the

warning given to the young man who was being sent down into the

city to purchase food: . . . let him behave with great caution, and not

reveal your whereabouts to anyone. For, behold, if they should come

to know about you, they might (literally) stone you (i.e., terrorize you),

or force you back to their faith, in which case you will never attain to

success.

The young men set a golden example in responding to the

blasphemy (Shirk) of their society with uncompromising fidelity to

Allah. They did not waver in their faith and did not compromise

despite intimidation and persecution. Instead they showed magnificent

courage in not only proclaiming their faith in the face of all threats,

but also in challenging that godless world, and in condemning its

godlessness: Thus, We strengthened their hearts when they stood up



118

and proclaimed (in an act of defiance of a godless world): Our Lord is

the Lord of the heavens and the earth. Never shall we recognize any

god other than Him. (They thus rejected sovereignty other than

Allah’s). If we did speak (such a thing) it would, indeed, constitute an

enormity. These, our people, have taken for worship Gods other than

Him (i.e., Allah). Why do they not bring forward an authority clear

(and convincing) for what they do? And who could be more wicked

than he who invents a lie against Allah (by claiming the right to

worship another).

Finally, when persecution had become intense they felt

compelled to leave their people. They resorted to Hijrah, i.e.,

migration from the territory in which there was persecution to a

territory of relative safety. And so they chose to flee from their town

and its oppression and, while fleeing, they paused to rest for awhile in

a cave: When you (decide that it is time to escape from them, i.e., the

world of Shirk) and from all that they worship instead of Allah, take

refuge in that cave. In the case of Prophet Abraham (‘alaihi al-Salām),

he and his family fled from Babylon and were guided by Allah to

migrate to the Holy Land of Palestine. And in the case of Prophet

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), he and his companions fled from

Makkah to Madina. And so, these young believers set an example of

conduct which was similar to that of the most exalted of all of the

Prophets, i.e., to give up home, hometown, comforts, jobs, etc. and

migrate as refugees to distant lands in order to preserve their faith!

The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) warned Muslims that the

time would come when they would have to emulate the young men

who fled to the cave. He did so in the following Hadīth:



119

Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri reported that the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam)

said: A time would soon come when the best possession of a Muslim will be

his goats with which he would seek asylum in a valley or in the hills for the

sake of his faith.


Since the Sūrah is to be read for protection from Dajjāl, and

since the age of Dajjāl would be the last age or the age of Qiyāmah, it

follows that the Sūrah also sends a message indicating that mankind

would embrace godlessness and idolatry in that age similar to that

described above. The Sūrah also clearly warns believers in Islam who

would remain faithful and resist being a part of that godless world,

that they would be subjected to the intimidation, persecution and

oppression to which the above young men were subjected. That is the

explanation of the war on Islam now raging around the world with the

greatest intensity.

When the young men entered the cave, they did so with very

deep spiritual fervour for they immediately prayed to Allah and asked

for help and mercy from the Divine Presence itself: Oh Lord, bestow

on us mercy from Thyself. Allah Most High was impressed by such a

display of faith. Indeed Allah Most High would always be moved by

such a display of faith. He responded to assist them. Sūrah al-Kahf

delivered the momentous promise that He will do the same for us!

The solution to the young men’s problem concerning the survival

of their faith lay in cutting themselves off from the godless world. The

guidance provided for us in Sūrah al-Kahf today is clear: If it ever

becomes necessary in this age to detach himself from the godless

world, to part from it and make Hijrah, in order to preserve faith in

Allah and in Islam, then the believer must do so. Already the war



120

against Islam has begun. It will rage more and more fiercely. The

Prophet warned of the terrible suffering and oppression of today’s

Last Age in the following Hadīth:

“Yahya related to me from Malik from Abu Zinad from al-Araj from Abu

Hurayra that the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said: The Hour will not

come until a man passes by the grave of another and says: If only I were in

his place.”

(Muwatta, Imam Malik)

Allah Most High responded to their prayer by putting the youths

to sleep and by shutting off their hearing from all sounds from that

outside world. And so they slept for years and years: Thereupon We

drew a veil over their ears (while they remained) in the cave for a

number of years. (They were thus cut off from the outside world.)

Had it been possible for others to flee to a similar place and to have

the provisions of sustaining themselves while living a life that was

detached from the godless world, then the same purpose would have

been achieved!

The question arises: How did Allah Most High sustain their

bodies during the years that they slept in the cave? Secondly, how did

He prevent their bodies from getting what is known as bedsores,

something which must necessarily occur when a patient is kept lying

in one position for too long a period of time?

The story, as narrated in Sūrah al-Kahf, is strongly suggestive of

the use of solar energy for nourishment as well as for propelling

motion. If solar energy can be used for moving a body it can be used

for propelling fans, running cars, providing energy for factories etc.

The implication for the believers in this age is that they must prepare



121

themselves to make maximum use of solar energy for survival during

the prolonged period of great hardship which will befall them when

Dajjāl uses oil as the ultimate weapon. He will do so when he finally

succeeds in seducing the whole world into a complete and irreversible

dependency on oil for transportation, travel, food production, industry,

etc., and when he forces the price of oil to rise to exhorbitant heights.

Our enemies would then take total control of the world’s oil

supplies and subject mankind to the political blackmail of submission

to Israel’s messianic rule over the world as the price to be paid for oil.

As this book goes to the press it appears that the Euro-Jewish

State of Israel is poised to wage a nuclear war through which it would

attempt to seize direct control over all the vast oil resources located

around the River Euphrates (i.e., Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the

Gulf States, etc.) Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) had

prophesied these wars (i.e., the British, and American wars on Iraq to

seize control of Iraq’s oil, and the Israeli war that is about to take

place) when he declared:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, “Soon the river 'Euphrates' will

uncover a treasure (a mountain) of gold, so whoever will be present at that

time should not take anything of it.” Al-A'raj narrated from Abu Huraira that

the Prophet said the same but he said, “It (Euphrates) will uncover a

mountain of gold (under it).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Narrated Ubayy ibn Ka'b: I heard Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) say: The

Euphrates would soon uncover a mountain of gold and when the people

would hear of it they would flock towards it but the people who would

possess that (treasure) (would say): If we allow these persons to take out of it

they would take away the whole of it. So they would fight and ninety-nine



122

out of one hundred would be killed. Abu Kamil in his narration said: I and

Abu Ka'b stood under the shade of the battlement of Hassan.

(Sahīh Muslim)

It would appear from the Qur’anic story that whenever the

sunlight entered the cave in the morning the bodies of the sleeping

young men were attracted to it, and rolled towards it. This

phenomenon is today known as phototropism. Then when the sun was

setting in the evening, and sunlight once again filtered through the

cave, but from the opposite direction, the bodies rolled in the opposite

direction. And (for many a year) you would have seen the sun, while

rising, incline away from the cave on the right, and, while setting, turn

away from them on the left, while they remained in the open space in

the middle of the cave. And you would have thought that they were

awake, whereas they were asleep. (You would have thought that they

were awake because) We caused them to turn over repeatedly, now to

the right, now to the left. This phenomenon of constant daily rolling of

the bodies prevented ulcers (bedsores). Secondly, it would appear that

the sunlight on the bodies gave to the bodies the minimum amount of

energy needed for the survival of vital organs. This process is called

photosynthesis.

Only Allah knows for how long the young men slept in the cave,

although the Qur’ān does mention three hundred (solar) years. Then

when Allah woke them up from their sleep and they began to question

each other as to the length of time they had been asleep, it was quickly

apparent that they had different capacities for sensing the reality of

things (as distinct from their appearances). Some said that they had

slept for a day or part thereof. That was what it appeared to be. Others,

who were not informed by mere appearances, rightly concluded that



123

only Allah knew for how long they had slept. Then We roused them in

order to test which of the two points of view (of the now awakened

youths) was best at calculating the term of years they had tarried (in

the cave). While the first viewpoint displayed no spiritual

comprehension of the time-span, the other recognized it. So mankind

will also, in the age of Fitan, display these two contrasting viewpoints

in respect of the spiritual reality of ‘time’. It will be an age when time

will move swiftly. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), said that:

“Narrated Anas ibn Mālik: A llah’s Messenger said: The Last Hour would

not come before time contracts, a year being like a month, a month like a

week, a week like a day, a day like an hour, and an hour like the kindling of a

fire.”

(Tirmīdhi)

There is a clear hint that Dajjāl would be responsible for lulling

mankind into this perception or consciousness of ever-accelerating

‘time’. The Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said of Dajjāl that “he

would live on earth for forty days, one day like a year, one day like a

month, one day like a week, and the rest of the days like your days!”

Those believers who are protected by Sūrah al-Kahf from the

Fitnah of Dajjāl would be able to recognize and understand ‘time’,

‘duration of time’, and ‘passage of time’ in the age of Fitan in much

the same way that some of the youths in the cave recognized that they

had not slept a normal sleep of just a day or part of a day.

In a previous chapter of this book we examined the subject of

‘the Qur’ān and time’ and we were introduced to Islam’s conception

of seven different worlds of ‘time’ all of which transcend our own

world of ‘time’. In the story of the young men and the cave we are



124

told that they slept for three hundred years and yet, when they were

awakened from their sleep and they sought to make an estimate of the

duration of time that they were in the cave, some of them responded

with an estimate of “a day or part of a day”. What this estimate

implies is that there were no visible signs of ageing despite the

passage of such a long period of time. The hair on their heads, their

beards, the length of their finger-nails, the skin on their faces, etc, had

all remained unchanged. This implies that they survived the three

hundred years while existing simultaneously in two dimensions of

time, firstly, our own biological dimension of ‘time’ in which their

bodies kept on rolling from left to right twice a day at sunrise and

sunset, and secondly, in another dimension of ‘time’ which was non-

biological and in which they had not aged despite the passage of three

hundred years.

The story has thus introduced us to different dimensions of time

that exist beside each other right here on earth. The understanding of

this subject is the very key to the interpretation of the enigmatic

Hadīth pertaining to Dajjāl’s life span on earth. And it is for precisely

this reason that we began this book with a chapter devoted to ‘time’.

Since they must have been very hungry, it was decided that one

of them should go to the town to buy some food. He was given some

silver coins to purchase the food. But he was warned to make sure that

he searched for the purest food: and let him search for food which is

purest, and bring you some (that you might satisfy your hunger).

Secondly, he was warned not to disclose the whereabouts of the

others in the cave because of the grave danger to which they would

then be exposed: But let him behave with great caution, and not reveal

your whereabouts to anyone. For, behold, if they should come to know



125

about you, they might stone you to death, or force you back to their

faith, in which case you will never attain to success.

We can only speculate about what happened when the young man

left the cave and went down to the city to buy food. The world must

have so changed that the roads, houses, clothing of the people etc.,

must have been very different. He must have been amazed, shocked

and baffled to the very roots of his being and may even have been

terrified by the total change that had taken place since he left his town.

The Qur’ān does not concern itself with those details, nor with that

part of the story. Rather, it restricts itself to informing us that the

godless world had so changed during the period when the youths were

asleep that its godlessness had been replaced by faith in Allah Most

High. This was clear from the decision that was taken by the people of

that town to commemorate the event by constructing a Masjid. Only

believers would make such a decision!

The fact that the godless world that was persecuting the believing

youths had perished, and had been replaced by a world of believers,

must have sent a powerful message of hope to the Muslims in Makkah

who were being persecuted by the pagan Arabs. It must have

reassured them that Truth would eventually triumph over falsehood.

It certainly assures us in this age that the present war on Islam

would not last forever and would be eventually replaced by victory for

Islam. Since the recitation of Sūrah al-Kahf offers protection from the

Fitnah of Dajjāl, the implication is that the inclusion of this story in

the Surah is meant to offer hope to the believers in the age of Fitan.

When the whole world unites to wage war on Islam, and when the

believers are subjected to such oppression that a man would pass by a

grave and wish that he were in the grave, this story would



126

continuously offer reassurance to the Muslims that Islam would

eventually triumph over all its rivals. They should not, therefore, lose

faith, or allow a sense of despair to affect them.

The fact that the young men gave careful instructions concerning

the food which was to be bought indicates to us, in this age of Fitan,

that our food would be corrupted, polluted, genetically altered, etc., to

such an extent that food may no longer be able to perform the

functions which Allah Most High ordained. For example, milk and

other dairy products may have a role to play in making it possible for

the body to maintain its immune system. When cows are injected with

hormones in order to increase milk production, the milk so produced

may be so corrupted that it may no longer perform that function, or

can have other serious side effects.

Nabi ‘Esa (Jesus) (‘alaihi al-Salām) is reported to have offered

advice to Banū Isrāīl which was similar to that found in the story of

Sūrah al- Kahf:

“Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Īsa ibn Maryam used

to say: O Banū Isrāīl! You must drink pure water and the green things of the

land and barley bread. Beware of wheat bread, for you will not be grateful

enough for it”.

(Muwatta, Malik)

Finally, it is not without significance that the Qur’ān pays minute

attention to the money that was to be used by the youth to buy food. It

was Wariq (silver coins): Let one of you go with these silver coins to

the town. The warning of Sūrah al-Kahf is clear. The believers must

pay the most careful attention to money in the Last Age. They must be

able to distinguish between real money and fake money. Real money,



127

as used by all the Prophets of Allah Most High all through the ages,

has always been gold or silver coins, or commodities such as wheat,

barley, dates, salt, etc. Real money has intrinsic value (i.e., the value

of the money is located in the money itself). In fake money, on the

other hand, the value of the money is arbitrarily designated by the one

who issues it. It cannot be redeemed for real money. When the value

of the money collapses, legalized theft takes place through a massive

transfer of wealth from the masses to a predatory elite located within

and beyond the borders of the state. That is Ribā. (see my two books

on the subject: ‘The Importance of the Prohibition of Ribā in Islām’

and ‘The Prohibition of Ribā in the Qur’ān and Sunnah’).

We live in an age in which mankind has been trapped in a world

of fake money and people are being ripped off of their wealth. Many

are already entrapped in slave labor.

Basic implications of the story for Muslims who live in the

modern world

We have examined the general significance of the story. Now let

us confine ourselves to the basic cause of conflict between the young

men and the world in which they lived. It was located in the fact that

that world had taken gods other than Allah for worship. These, our

people, have taken for worship gods other than Him (i.e., Allah). Why

do they not bring forward an authority clear (and convincing) for

what they do? And who could be more wicked than he who invents a

lie against Allah (by claiming the right of submission to such gods).

That was the sin of blasphemy (Shirk), the one sin which Allah would

never forgive:



128

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“Lo! Allah does not forgive when anyone else beside Him is recognized as

God (or worshipped as a God or as someone who possesses sovereignty,

supreme authority, etc). He forgives anything else beside such (a sin) to

whom He p leases; and Whoever recognizes or worships any beside Allah as

God has indeed committed a monstrous sin.”

(Qur’ān, al-Nisā, 4:48)

We live today in a world that is totally embraced by blasphemy

(Shirk). Indeed Shirk has taken control of the whole world. And many

of the scholars of Islam and popular Islamic organizations either

cannot recognize it, or are unwilling to denounce it in the manner of

the young men of Sūrah al-Kahf.

The Shirk of the modern world can be easily discerned from the

fact that Allah has strictly prohibited Ribā (borrowing and lending

money on interest), intoxicants, gambling, homosexuality and

lesbianism, abortion, etc. Yet modern states around the world,

including so-called Islamic states, have permitted, or are permitting,

all of them. Legislation is constantly being enacted to permit all that

Allah prohibited.

Again, Allah has permitted plural marriages (up to a maximum of

four wives) on the condition that the husband can maintain his wives,

and that he treat them with equity. Allah has also declared that the life

of the Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) constitutes the best model of

conduct for the believers. The Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had

many wives.



129

The Shirk of the modern age can be clearly discerned in the fact

that, around the world today, governments are enacting legislation to

prohibit what Allah has permitted. Thus the law prohibits plural

marriages, and prohibits the marriage of girls under 16 (and

sometimes under 18) years of age.

And so, they prohibit that which Allah has permitted, and they

permit that which Allah has prohibited!

Now let us examine the following verses of the Qur’ān

concerning the case of someone who prohibits what Allah has

permitted, or permits what Allah has prohibited. And let us also

examine the explanation of the Qur’anic verses given by the Prophet

(sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam):

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“Is it that they (who care for no more than this world) believe in forces

supposed to have a share in Allah’s divin ity, which enjo in upon them as a

moral law something that Allah has never allowed? Now were it not for

(Allah’s) decree on the final judgment, all would indeed have been decided

between them (in this world): but, verily, grievous suffering awaits the

evildoers (in the life to come).”

(Qur’ān, al-Shūra, 42:21)



130

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“They have taken as lords beside Allah their Rabbis and their Monks and the

Messiah son of Mary, when they were ordered to worship only One God.

There is no god save Him. Glory be to Him. Far removed is He from all that

they ascribe as partners (unto Him)!”

(Qur’ān, al-Tauba, 9:31)

‘Adi bin Hat im, who had been a Christian before embracing Islam, once

came to the Prophet. When he heard him recit ing the above verse of the

Qur’ān he said: Oh Messenger of Allah, but they (the Jews) do not worship

them (the Rabbis). The Prophet replied: Yes, but they prohibit to the people

what is Halal and permit them what is Haram, and the people obey them.

This is, indeed, their worship of them.

(Sunan, Tirmidhi)

The Christians claim that Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) vested this

authority to legislate that which is permitted and that which is

prohibited to his disciples before he ascended into the heavens. He is

reported to have said:

“I tell you this: whatever you forbid on earth shall be forbidden in heaven,

and whatever you permit on earth shall be permitted in heaven.”

(Matthew: 18:18)

It is clear that this verse of Matthew should have read that

whatever was forbidden in heaven must also be forbidden on earth,

and whatever is permitted in heaven must also be permitted on earth!



131

Around the world today, Muslims submit to the authority of

governments that are committing Shirk . They vote for them in

elections. They swear by constitutions that give authority to the

governments to commit Shirk. They are employed by those

governments, and serve them faithfully. They honor, support and obey

such governments. There is no question, therefore, that all of us (illa

ma sha’ Allah) are also in Shirk! Yet so many of the scholars of Islam

adopt a neutral attitude towards such nations, or turn a blind eye to

their Shirk, or, worst of all, become active supporters of such

governments.

The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) warned that Dajjāl

would test mankind with a barrage of Shirk. He went on to further

warn that the attack of Shirk would be as difficult to recognize as it

would be to recognize “a black ant on a black stone on a dark night”.

It is very easy for us to recognize the fulfillment of this prophecy in

the names of the days of the week and months of the year which are

now in universal use by all nations (illa mā shā Allah).

All the days of the week from ‘Sunday’ to ‘Saturday’, and all the

months of the year from ‘January’ to ‘December’, have all been

named after pagan gods/goddesses! When we use these names for the

days of the week and the months of the year and abandon, for all

practical purposes, the Sunnah (in respect of the names of the days of

the week and the months of the year) we enter into Shirk. Indeed some

of the names of the days of the week as well as months of the year are

actually given in the Qur’ān itself. The Sunnah in respect of those

names is:

Youm al-Ahad (the first day of the week); Youm al-Ithnain (the

second day of the week); Youm al-Thalatha (the third day of the



132

week); Youm al-Arba’a (the fourth day of the week); Youm al-Khamīs

(the fifth day of the week); Youm al-Jum’ah (the day of the Jum’ah or

congregational prayer); Youm al-Sabt (the Sabbath day).

(At least two of the names of days of the week are located in the

Qur’ān, namely Youm al-Jum’ah and Youm al-Sabt.)

Similarly the Sunnah in respect of the names of the months of the

year is as follows:

Muharram; Safar; Rabī’ al-Awwal; Rabī’ al-Thāni; Jumādi al-

Awwal; Jumādi al-Thāni; Rajab; Shabān; Ramadān; Shawwāl; Dhū

al-Qa’ada; Dhū al-Hajj.

(At least one of these names of months of the year is mentioned in the

Qur’ān, i.e ., the month of Ramadān.)

It was because of the grave warning concerning Shirk which was

located at the heart of the story of the young men in the cave that the

Qur’ān ended the story, at Verse 26, with the following statement

concerning Allah Most High and His Supreme Authority:

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“. . . . nor does He share His Command (or Governance) with anyone

whatsoever.”


The Qur’ān has revealed to us the Duah (prayer) of Nabi Mūsa

(‘alaihi al-Salām) who prayed to Allah when he found himself in the

midst of a people who had embraced the sin of Shirk and would not

disengage from it. This was his prayer:



133

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“He said: O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: so

separate us from th is rebellious people!”

(Qur’ān, al-Māidah, 5:25)

Now that we have exposed and explained the universal

blasphemy (Shirk) of the modern age, and we have also drawn

attention to the war on Islam now raging around the world, it remains

for us to apply the lesson from the story of the young men in this

Sūrah of the blessed Qur’ān. When it becomes necessary to do so, in

order to preserve our faith in Allah Most High, we, in turn, must flee

in the very same way that they fled from the godless world that was

waging war on Islam.

The eminent Turkish Islamic scholar and thinker, Badi’uzzaman

Sa’id Nursi, is reported to have advised Muslims in post-Caliphate

Turkey to withdraw from the cities to the country-side and to seek to

preserve their faith in ten thousand Muslim villages.

We hold the same view. We firmly believe that survival of faith

for Muslims in the Gog and Magog modern age lies in withdrawal

from the cities of the modern world to remotely-located Muslim

Villages where micro-Islamic communities can be established. At the

nucleus of the remotely-located Muslim Village must be the most

pious of the believers. They must set the standard of conduct (of

worship in particular) to be emulated by all others resident in the

Village.



134

Sūrah al-Kahf has advised the believers to keep the company of

such people, particularly in the age of Dajjāl and of Gog and Magog,

and beware of turning away from these great role models and being

seduced bt the attractions (glitter, pomp) of the modern world. It has

done so in this verse of haunting beauty which we both translate and

explain:

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tβρß‰ƒÍ� ãƒ … çµyγô_uρ ( Ÿωuρ ß‰÷ès? x8$ uΖøŠ tã öΝ åκ÷]tã ß‰ƒÍ� è? sπsΨƒÎ— Ïο 4θuŠ ysø9$# $u‹ ÷Ρ‘‰9$#

( Ÿωuρ ôìÏÜè? ôtΒ $ uΖù= x&øî r& … çµt7 ù=s% tã $ tΡÍ� ø.ÏŒ yìt7?$#uρ çµ1uθyδ šχ% x.uρ …çν ã� øΒr&

$ WÛã� èù ∩⊄∇∪ ⟨

Simple translation:

And content yourself with those who call on their Lord-God morning and

evening seeking His (very) face; and do not let your eyes pass beyond them

in quest of the pomp, glitter and beauties of this world's life; and pay no heed

to any whose heart We have rendered heedless of Our remembrance because

he had always followed his own desires, abandoning all that is good and true.


Exp lanatory translation:

And (until that time of judgment comes) let your heart be contented (in

seeking the company of those sincere believers) who call on their Lord-God

morn ing and evening (with all their heart and soul), seeking His countenance

(hence this is passionate rather than mechanical worship); and do not let

your eyes pass beyond them in quest of the pomp, glitter and beauties of this

world 's life (let not the godless world seduce you with its attractions, or bribe

you with a handout to get you to turn away from such sincere servants of



135

Allah Most High); and pay no heed to (do not obey, do not follow the

leadership of) any whose heart We have rendered heedless of all

remembrance of Us (i.e., constant remembrance in the heart of the Lord-

God) because he had always followed (only) his own desires (i.e., his own

agenda in his lust for power or fame or wealth, etc.), abandoning all that is

good and true (and waging war on the true servants of Allah).

Commentary:

In this hauntingly beautiful verse Sūrah al-Kahf gives additional advice and

warnings regarding the method with which believers should respond to the

dangers of the godless world in the age of trials of Dajjāl, and of oppression

and corruption of the Gog and Magog world-order.

The essence of that guidance is that they should carefully choose the

company that they keep, the people with whom they associate and, hence, the

Jamā’ah to which they belong and the place they choose to reside. They

should remain attached to those sincere servants of Allah Most High who

radiate constant piety, humility, godliness and firmness of character in their

personality.

Such believers would display firmness in their resolve to remain faithful to

Allah and His blessed Messenger (peace be upon him) while war on Islam is

raging in the world.

In addition, they should avoid the company of those who exhib it godlessness,

sinfulness, greed, lust, pride, haughtiness, arrogance, vindictiveness and spite

in their conduct, and who support those who are waging war on Islam. Such

would be a people who pursue their own world ly agenda and whose works

would be in vain.



136

CHAPTER SIX

THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND THE

POOR MAN

In the previous chapter the Qur’anic story in Sūrah al-Kahf of the

young men who fled into the cave was narrated and analyzed. We

ended that chapter by noting that the young men fled from Shirk

(blasphemy). This is the greatest and most dangerous of all sins since

it is the one sin which Allah Most High has declared that He would

not forgive (i.e., if someone were to die without earning forgiveness

for such sin).

But shortly after concluding the story of the young men in the

cave Sūrah al-Kahf returned to the same theme in order to direct

attention to another form of Shirk which would be prevalent in the age

of Dajjāl. In the story of two men, one to whom Allah Most High had

given wealth in the form of two very fertile gardens, while the other

was poor since he was not given wealth, the rich man was corrupted

and deceived by his wealth and consequently his faith was destroyed.

Theoretically he worshipped Allah. Factually, however, he

worshipped his wealth (i.e., the Dunyah). And that was Shirk. Allah’s

punishment eventually overtook him and his wealth was destroyed.

The poor man, on the other hand, recognized the corruption in the

heart of the rich man to be blasphemy (Shirk), and warned of the

divine punishment that could ensue, i.e., that Allah Most High could

destroy his gardens and thus take away his wealth.



137

The poor man did not envy the rich man’s wealth. Rather, he

counseled him to bow to the supremacy of the Divine by recognizing

that his wealth had come from Allah Most High. He should respond

with gratitude to Allah Most High Who is the bestower of wealth. The

poor man also expressed the hope that his Lord-God would give him

something better in the next world than the gardens of the rich man,

and better than the poverty with which he lived in this world.

This narrative in Sūrah al-Kahf accurately describes the world

today in which the clutches of godless secularism and materialism has

resulted in the new modern way of life. Greed, lust for wealth,

material possession, and sex, are corrupting the vast majority of

people around the world. This even includes many Muslims.

The Sūrah warns those who yearn for this world (Dunyah) that it

has nothing abiding to offer. Everything perishes and passes away.

Therefore, instead of living ‘in’ this world and ‘for’ this world, one

should live ‘in’ this world but ‘for’ the next world. The believer

should strive in this world to pursue the mission of living ‘for’ Allah.

If he is poor he should bear his trials with patience while living ‘for’

Allah, confident that when Allah Most High accepts his submission,

worship and patience, he would be rewarded with abundant good in

the life hereafter.

This message was summed up in a truly unforgettable verse of

Sūrah al Kahf:

ãΑ$ yϑø9 $# tβθãΖt6 ø9 $# uρ èπ uΖƒ Î— Ïο 4θuŠys ø9 $# $ u‹÷Ρ‘‰9 $# ( àM≈uŠÉ)≈ t7ø9 $# uρ

àM≈ys Ï=≈ ¢Á9 $# í� ö�yz y‰ΖÏã y7 În/ u‘ $\/# uθrO í� ö�yzuρ Wξ tΒ r& ∩⊆∉∪ ⟨



138

“Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world: but good

deeds, the fruit whereof endures forever, are of far greater merit in thy Lord-

God’s sight, and far better as (the foundation for) hope.”

Here is the Qur’ānic text of the parable concerning the rich man

and the poor man. The parable begins at verse thirty-two and ends at

verse forty-six:

Verse 32

* ñUÎ�ôÑ$#uρ Μçλm; WξsW ¨Β È ÷n= ã_§‘ $ uΖù= yè y_ $ yϑ ÏδÏ‰tn{ È ÷tFΖy_ ô ÏΒ

5=≈uΖôã r& % m„à…≈sΨ ø&x& xmuρ 5≅÷‚uΖÎ/ $uΖù= yè y_uρ $ yϑåκs]÷� t/ %Yæö‘ y— ∩⊂⊄∪ ⟨

“Set forth for them the parable of two men. For one of them We provided

two gardens of grape-vines and surrounded them with date-palms: and in

between the two We placed corn-fields.”

Verse 33

$tGù= Ï. È÷tFΖyfø9$# ôMs?#u $ yγn= ä.é& óΟs9uρ ΟÏ= øàs? çµ÷ΖÏiΒ $Z↔ ø‹ x© 4 $ tΡö� ¤fsùuρ

$ yϑßγ n=≈n= ½z #X�pκtΞ ∩⊂⊂∪ ⟨

“Each of those gardens brought forth its produce and failed not in the least

therein. In the midst of them (i.e., the two gardens) We caused a river to

flow.”

Verse 34



139

šχ%x.uρ …çµs9 Ö� yϑrO tΑ$s) sù ÏµÎ7 Ås≈|ÁÏ9 uθèδuρ ÿ… çν â‘Íρ$ ut ä† O$ tΡr& ã�nY ø.r& y7ΖÏΒ

Zω$ tΒ –“ tãr& uρ #X�x& tΡ ∩⊂⊆∪ ⟨

“And so, this man had an (abundance) of produce. He said to his companion

in the course of a mutual argument: I have more wealth than you, and more

honor and power in (my following of) men (i.e., the number of people who

follow me)!”

Verse 35

Ÿ≅yzyŠ uρ … çµtGΨy_ uθèδuρ ÖΝ Ï9$ sß ÏµÅ¡ø& uΖÏj9 tΑ$ s% !$ tΒ ÷àßr& βr& y‰Š Î6s?

ÿ ÏνÉ‹≈ yδ #Y‰t/r& ∩⊂∈∪ ⟨

“Then he went into his garden in (that) state of internal corruption and

proceeded to declare: I do not believe that this (wealth of mine in these

gardens) will ever perish.”

Verse 36

!$ tΒ uρ ÷àßr& sπtã$¡¡9$# Zπyϑ Í←!$ s% È⌡s9uρ ‘NŠ ÏŠ•‘ 4’ n< Î) ’Ïn1u‘ ¨βy‰É`{ #[�ö� yz

$ yγ÷Ψ ÏiΒ $ Y6n= s)ΖãΒ ∩⊂∉∪ ⟨

“Nor do I believe that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) come. (It is so

utterly remote a thing as to be, in effect, a thing that would never occur.) (In

fact) even if I am brought back to my Lord I shall surely find (there)

something (i.e. reward) better in exchange.”

Verse 37



140

tΑ$ s% … çµs9 …çµç7 Ïm$|¹ uθèδuρ ÿ… çνâ‘ Íρ$ utä† |Nö� x&x.r& “Ï% ©!$$ Î/ y7 s)n= yz ÏΒ

5>#u� è? §ΝèO ÏΒ 7πx& ôÜœΡ §ΝèO y71§θy™ Wξã_u‘ ∩⊂∠∪ ⟨

“His companion responded to him, in the course of the argument with him.

Would you show ingratitude to He Who created you out of dust, and then out

of a drop of sperm, and then fashioned you into a man?”

Verse 38

O$ ¨Ψ Å3≈©9 uθèδ ª!$# ’ Ïn1u‘ Iωuρ à8 Î�õ°é& þ’ Ïn1u�Î/ #Y‰tnr& ∩⊂∇∪ ⟨

“For my part (I declare) that He, Allah, is my Lord-God, and I shall not

associate any other with my Lord-God.”

Verse 39

Iωöθs9uρ øŒ Î) |Mù= yzyŠ y7tFΖy_ |M ù=è% $ tΒ u!$ x© ª!$# Ÿω nο §θè% āωÎ) «!$$ Î/ 4 βÎ)

Èβu� s? O$ tΡr& ¨≅s%r& y7ΖÏΒ Zω$ tΒ #V$ s!uρ uρ ∩⊂∪ ⟨

“(He then went on to ask the rich man): Why did you not say, when you

entered your garden: (This is all) Allah's Will! There is no power but with

Allah! If you were to (assess) me (in terms of my worth) you would find me

with less wealth and sons than you.”

Verse 40

4|¤yè sù þ’ Ïn1u‘ βr& È yÏ?÷σãƒ #[�ö� yz ÏiΒ y7 ÏFΖy_ Ÿ≅Å™ö� ãƒuρ $ pκö�n= tæ $ ZΡ$ t7ó¡ãm

z ÏiΒ Ï!$ yϑ¡¡9$# yxÎ6óÁçFsù #Y‰‹ Ïè|¹ $ ¸)s9y— ∩⊆⊃∪ ⟨



141

“But (bear in mind) it may be that my Lord can (eventually) give me

something better than your garden, and that He can inflict your garden with

thunderbolts (by way of reckoning) from heaven, making it (but) slippery

sand (i.e., destroying it)!”

Verse 41

÷ρ r& yxÎ6óÁãƒ $ yδäτ !$ tΒ #Y‘ öθxî n= sù yì‹ ÏÜtGó¡n@ … çµs9 $ Y6n= sÛ ∩⊆⊇∪ ⟨

“Or the water of the garden would (be made to) run off underground so that

you would never be able to retrieve it (in which case, also, the gardens would

perish).”

Verse 42

xÝ‹Ïmé& uρ ÏνÍ� yϑ sWÎ/ yxt7ô¹r' sù Ü= Ïk= s)ãƒ ÏµøŠ ¤&x. 4’n?tã !$ tΒ t, x&Ρr& $ pκ�Ïù }‘ Ïδuρ

îπtƒÍρ%s{ 4’ n?tã $ pκÅ−ρã� ãã ãΑθà) tƒuρ É_ tFø‹n=≈tƒ óΟs9 õ8Î�õ° é& þ’ Ïn1u� Î/ #Y‰tnr& ∩⊆⊄∪ ⟨

“(So said, so done). His fruits (and enjoyment) were encompassed (with

ruin) and he remained twisting and turning his hands over what he had spent

on his property which had (now) tumbled to pieces to its very foundations,

and he could only say: Woe is me! Would that I had never blasphemed (i.e.

committed Shirk) in my worship of my Lord and Cherisher!”

Verse 43

öΝ s9uρ ä3s? … ã&©! ×πt⁄ Ïù …çµtΡρ ã�ÝÇΖtƒ ÏΒ ÈβρßŠ «!$# $ tΒ uρ tβ%x. #¶�ÅÇtFΖãΒ

∩⊆⊂∪



142

“Nor could he find those who could help him against Allah, nor was he able

to deliver himself ( from his awful state).”

Verse 44

y7 Ï9$uΖèδ èπu‹≈ s9uθø9$# ¬! Èd, ut ù:$# 4 uθèδ Ö�ö�yz $ \/#uθrO í�ö�yzuρ $ Y6ø)ãã ∩⊆⊆∪ ⟨

“For thus it is: all protective power belongs to Allah alone, the True One. He

is the Best to reward, and the Best to determine what is to be.”

Verse 45

ó>Î� ôÑ $# uρ Μçλ m; Ÿ≅sV ¨Β Ïο4θuŠutù: $# $ u‹÷Ρ‘‰9 $# > !$ yϑx. çµ≈ sΨø9 u“Ρr& zÏΒ

Ï !$ yϑ¡¡9 $# xÝn=tG ÷z$$ sù Ïµ Î/ ßN$ t6 tΡ ÇÚö‘ F{ $# yx t7ô¹r'sù $ Vϑ‹Ï± yδ

çνρâ‘ õ‹ s? ßx≈tƒ Íh�9 $# 3 tβ%x.uρ ª!$# 4’ n? tã Èe≅ ä. & ó x« # �‘ Ï‰tG ø) –Β ∩⊆∈∪ ⟨ “And propound unto them the parable of the life of this world: (it is) like the

rain which We send down from the skies, and which is absorbed by the plants

of the earth: but (in time) they turn into dry stubble that the winds blow freely

about. And it is Allah (alone) who prevails over all things.”

46 Verse








143


The passage in Sūrah al-Kahf which narrates the parable of the

rich man and the poor man, warns of the dangers posed when wealth

corrupts and destroys faith. It ends with a reminder of the Day of

Judgment and of the fate that awaits those who lose faith

Significance of the story

This parable provides a contrast between two men and their ways

of life which symbolizes life in the age of Dajjāl.

Allah Most High Who sometimes bestows wealth as a trust and a

trial in this life. And Allah sometimes punishes with wealth since that

wealth would become the road to ruin. If wealth was not lawfully

earned, such as through modern usurious banking and insurance, it

would be Haram and would ensure that the possessor would burn in

the fire of hell.

Secularism and a resultant philosophy of materialism that

dispenses with God and religion, would corrupt the heart with deadly

diseases. The dominant disease of the Last Age would be such lust for

wealth that would render people blind to spiritual reality. They would

be brainwashed and live in an illusory world of fantasy (a fool’s

paradise) while merrily walking the road to hell-fire. The significance

of this story in Sūrah al-Kahf is located in the warning that it delivers

concerning that disease.

The modern world glamorizes wealth and the lifestyle of the

wealthy. Eventually the poor grow to hate and despise their poverty

and persuade themselves to do whatever it takes, lawful or unlawful,

to extricate themselves from the curse of poverty. This results in



144

banditry, theft, violent crimes of robbery, kidnapping etc. In fact the

entire society becomes corrupted because the rich, also, use unlawful

means to constantly increase their wealth.

The poor man in this Sūrah boasted of nothing. His trust was in

Allah Most High. Eventually Allah destroyed the rich man’s wealth,

and the poor man was the happier in the end. There is a powerful

message of comfort, hope and support in this parable for poor

believers who live in a world that recognizes the rich man to be a

‘somebody’, and the poor man to be a ‘nobody’ – a world which

demonizes poverty as an evil that must be eradicated.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali has captured the essence of the parable in

this (edited) version of his commentary:

“The arrogant one was puffed up with his possessions, his income, and his

large family and following, and thought in his self-complacency that it would

last forever. He was also wrong in looking down on his companion, who,

though less affluent, was the better man of the two. It was not wealth that

ruined him, but the attitude of his mind. He was unjust, not so much to his

neighbor, as to his own soul. In his love of the material, he forgot, or openly

defied, the spiritual. As verse 37 shows, he took his companion with him, to

impress him with his own importance, but the companion was unmoved.

Here comes out the grasping spirit of the materialist. In his mind ‘better’

means more wealth and more power of the kind he was enjoying in this life,

although, in reality, even what he had, rested on hollow foundations, and was

doomed to perish and bring him down with it.

The companion’s argument was divided into five parts. He remonstrated

against the proud man for denying Allah. Then he proclaimed, on the basis of

his own spiritual experience, that Allah is One and that He is Good. He also

pointed out to him the better way of en joying Allah’s gifts, i.e., with gratitude

to Him. He expressed contentment and satisfaction in Allah’s dealings with



145

him. Finally, he gave a warning of the fleeting nature of this world’s goods

and the certainty of Allah’s punishment for inord inate vanity.”

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Translation and Commentary of Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān, Notes 2376-80)

How should believers respond to the secularism and materialism

which today dominate mankind and the world? Sūrah al-Kahf

provides the key to the answer. Abdullah Yusuf Ali continues:

“The punishment that was visited on the rich arrogant man was that of

thunderbolts (husbanan), but the general meaning of the word includes any

punishment by way of a reckoning (hisab), but, perhaps, an earthquake is also

implied, as it alters water-courses, diverts channels underground, throws up

silt and sand, and covers large areas with ruin. ‘Fruits’, ‘spent’, ‘twisting of

the hands’, should all be understood in a wide metaphorical sense, as well as

the literal sense. He had great income and satisfaction, which were all gone.

He had lavished significant resources on his property. His thoughts had been

engrossed on it; his hopes had been built on it; it had become the absorbing

passion of his life. If he had only looked to Allah, instead of to the ephemeral

goods of this world!

In this case, in his mind, there was his own Self and his Mammon as rivals to

Allah! He had built up connections and obliged dependants, and was proud

of having his ‘quiver full’. But where were all these things when the

reckoning came? He could not help himself; how could others be expected to

help him? All else is vanity, uncertainty, and the sport of Time. The only

hope or truth is from Allah. Other rewards and other successes are illusory:

the best Reward and the best Success come from Allah.”

(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Translation and Commentary of Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān, Notes 2380-85)



146

The modern godless world has turned away from Allah Most

High, and it has done so surreptiously. It pretends that it still believes

in Allah, but in reality it does not!

The story of the two men also points ominously at the future of

mankind with particular reference to the age of Dajjāl. The world of

Kufr and Shirk will perish in the same way as did the gardens of the

rich man, i.e., natural disasters and an ever-diminishing supply of

fresh water:

y…… . Ÿ≅Å™ö�ãƒuρ $ pκö�n= tæ $ ZΡ$ t7 ó¡ãm zÏiΒ Ï!$ yϑ ¡¡9$# yxÎ6óÁçFsù #Y‰‹ Ïè|¹

$ ¸)s9y— ∩⊆⊃∪ ÷ρr& yxÎ6óÁãƒ $ yδäτ !$ tΒ #Y‘ öθxî n= sù yì‹ ÏÜtGó¡n@ … çµs9 $ Y6n= sÛ ∩⊆⊇∪ ⟨

“ . . . . . He may let loose a calamity out of heaven upon this (thy garden) (by

way of reckoning) so that it becomes a heap of barren dust or its water sinks

deep into the ground so that you will never be able to find it again (in which

case, also, the gardens will perish).”


That diminishing supply of fresh water has already begun. The

countdown has already started.

The rich man and the poor man in today’s world of Islam

Sūrah al-Kahf teaches a very important lesson concerning

worldly wealth. It recognizes its importance and utility and admits the

lure of wealth. But wealth can perish, and one should not therefore

look upon it as the be-all and end-all of life. Rather, says Sūrah al-



147

Kahf, it is good deeds that survive the march of time, hence we should

devote more attention to good conduct than to the pursuit of wealth:







Wealth and children are transient things in the world that men

long for, but there is something else that is better since it abides

beyond the count of time – and that is, good deeds. And so, as the

world becomes more and more corrupt in the Last Age, and as

darkness envelops the world, the believer should strive strenuously to

be righteous in conduct.

Dajjāl’s strategy of corrupting and controlling mankind through

wealth can be clearly discerned from the story of the rich and poor

men. He uses Ribā (usury) as well as control of the state on the one

hand to enrich those who do not resist him, and on the other to

impoverish those who resist him. This is Dajjāl’s economic strategy

through which he seeks to control the world on behalf of the Euro-

Jewish State of Israel. The strategy appears to be largely successful.

Around the world today those who possess power and who rule, are

rich and grow constantly richer, while those who resist the rulers of

the world are reduced to poverty and grow constantly poorer.

Around the world of Islam today, the rich support governments



148

that have, in turn, become clients of the rulers of the world. And the

poor masses have been effectively excluded from power and the

decision-making process. This has worked admirably to Israel’s

benefit. Prophet Muhammad prophesied that Dajjāl would do

precisely that:

Nawwās ibn Sam’an said that Allah’s Messenger spoke of Dajjāl one day in

the morning . . . . . He said: He (Dajjāl) would come to the people and invite

them (to a wrong religion); they would affirm their faith in him and respond

to him. He would then give a command to the sky: there would be rainfall

upon the earth and it would grow crops. Then in the evening, their pasturing

animals would come to them with their humps very high, their udders full of

milk and their flanks distended. He would then come to another people and

invite them. But they would reject him so he would go away from them; they

would then (suffer from) drought and nothing would be left with them in the

form of wealth. (Sahīh, Muslim)

It is amazing, really, that the subject of the prohibition of usury

(Ribā) in Islam, which is of such tremendous strategic importance, is

yet so neglected. This writer’s experience is that very few Muslims

today have an adequate knowledge of the subject, and that is largely

because the scholars of Islam avoid teaching the subject. We hope that

our two books on the subject of Ribā (i.e., ‘The Prohibition of Ribā in

the Qur’ān and Sunnah’ and ‘The Importance of the Prohibition of

Ribā in Islam’) would assist readers in understanding the subject. In

addition there is the recording of our seminar on ‘Islam and Money’

which can be viewed on our website: www.imranhosein.org.

Wealth corrupts those who embrace materialism and lust for

wealth also corrupts those who acquire wealth unjustly. When such



149

corrupt people become the ruling elite they use power to oppress the

poor. The impoverished Muslim masses around the world of Islam

resolutely oppose the ever-increasing oppression of the Euro-Jewish

State of Israel, and they are destined to become a force with which to

be reckoned. That is the morale of the story as narrated in Sūrah al-

Kahf. Faith in Allah Most High would translate into an indestructible

power that would eventually overcome Israel’s power and might. And

so a clash between the ruling elite and the impoverished masses must

eventually occur. Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) has

already prophesied that Muslims would overcome oppression in the

Holy Land through an armed conflict.

The rich predatory elite who invariably controll political power,

the military, and other such institutions of the state, seek an

accommodation with Israel that would protect their vested interests.

This is described as the 'peace process.' Accustomed as they are to

power and privilege, they are terrified at the prospect of resurgent

revolutionary Islam of the poor masses winning power and then

dealing with them in the manner in which revolutionary Islamic Iran

dealt with its predatory elite. And so the pressure to accommodate

Israel comes from a terrified wealthy Muslim elite living in mortal

fear of the impoverished Muslim masses and of Islam's stern and

uncompromising justice.

It is quite clear that the predatory rich who have been corrupted

by their wealth would never join in the armed struggle to liberate the

oppressed in the Holy Land. It is equally clear that their poor brethren

would joyfully embrace that armed struggle.

This aspect of the story of the rich man and the poor man in

Sūrah al-Kahf was recently manifested in dramatic form in Palestinian



150

elections in which the poor masses demonstrated their

uncompromising capacity to resist Israeli oppression by voting in a

government comprised of the Hamas Islamic resistance.

Those poor have taken their strength and hope from the following

passage of the story in Sūrah al-Kahf in which the poor man addressed

the rich man:

4 βÎ) Èβu� s? O$ tΡr& ¨≅s%r& y7ΖÏΒ Zω$ tΒ #V$ s!uρ uρ ∩⊂∪ ⟨

“If you were to (assess) me (in terms o f my worth) you would find me with

less wealth and sons that you.”

4|¤yè sù þ’ Ïn1u‘ βr& È yÏ?÷σãƒ #[�ö� yz ÏiΒ y7 ÏFΖy_ Ÿ≅Å™ö� ãƒuρ $ pκö�n= tæ $ ZΡ$ t7ó¡ãm

z ÏiΒ Ï!$ yϑ¡¡9$# yxÎ6óÁçFsù #Y‰‹ Ïè|¹ $ ¸)s9y— ∩⊆⊃∪ ⟨ “But (bear in mind) it may be that my Lord will g ive me something better

than your garden and that He will inflict your garden with thunderbolts (by

way of reckoning) from heaven, making it (but) slippery sand (i.e., destroying

it)!” (Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:39-40)

Finally there is another complication that emerges when wealth

corrupts the heart. Such an individual becomes internally blind and, as

a consequence, cannot penetrate truth in the Qur’ān. Sūrah al-Kahf

disclosed what Allah Most High does to such people:

. . . 4 $‾ΡÎ) $ sΨ ù=yè y_ 4’ n?tã öΝÎγ Î/θè= è% ºπΖÅ2 r& βr& çνθßγ s)ø& tƒ þ’ Îûuρ öΝÎκÏΞ#sŒ#u

#X� ø%uρ ( βÎ) uρ óΟßγ ããô‰s? ’ n< Î) 3“y‰ßγ ø9$# n= sù (#ÿρ ß‰tF÷κu‰ #�ŒÎ) #Y‰t/r& ∩∈∠∪ ⟨



151

“ . . . Behold, over their hearts have We laid veils that prevent them from

grasping the truths (revealed in this Qur’ān), and into their ears, deafness;

and though you may call them to the (true) guidance (of this Qur’ān), they

will never embrace it.” (Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:57)

Believers who read this book ought to summon the insight with

which to recognize such ‘hopelessly blind people’ who reject the

guidance as presented by the rightly guided scholars of Islam and

humble servants of Allah. This becomes an absolute imperative when

such people, who usually belong to the ‘predatory’ elite, hijack

Muslim communities and proceed through devious, deceitful and

cunning means (often a check book) to hoist themselves up until they

are recognized as leaders of the Muslim community. Invariably they

are a people who identify with, and enthusiastically support, the war

on Islam being waged by today’s European Jewish-Christian alliance

that rules the world. Although they proclaim themselves to be leaders

of the Muslims they have effectively left Islam and have joined,

instead, that Jewish-Christian ruling alliance. Consider the following

verse of the Qur’ān:

ن يمض وعاء بيلأو مهضعاء بيلى أوارصالنو ودهذوا اليختوا ال تنآم ينا الذها أيم يلهوت

نيمالظال مي القودهال ي إن الله مهنم هفإن نكمم

“Oh you who believe (in this Qur’ān) do not take (such) Jews and the

Christians as (your) friends or allies who themselves become friends and

allies of each other. And whoever of you turns to them for friendship or

alliance becomes, verily, one of them; behold, Allah does not guide such

evildoers.”



152

(Qur’ān, al-Māidah, 5:51)



153

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE PARABLE OF MOSES AND KHIDR

In this story of the encounter of Musa and Khidr (peace and

blessings of Allah Most High be upon them both), Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān

has explained Dajjāl’s ‘one eye’ while teaching the crucially

important epistemological lesson that knowledge comes through two

sources. Knowledge from the first source is known as ‘ilm al-Zāhir,

and it is based on empirical knowledge and rational enquiry. Such

knowledge, which includes scientific knowledge, is finite and limited.

Knowledge from the second is known as ‘ilm al-Bātin, and is internal

intuitive spiritual knowledge that also may be known as religious

experience. It is spiritually communicated to an individual and

originates in a dimension of reality which transcends material reality.

It usually comes in the form of intuitive thought, but it can also be

communicated through true dreams or visions as a gift from Allah

Most High. Such knowledge is infinite, inexhaustible, and timeless.

Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon him)

declared that such knowledge, when communicated to a believer

through the medium of true or prophetic dreams and visions,

constituted the last part of prophethood still remaining in the world

after him. Here is the Hadīth as narrated by several companions of the

Prophet:

Narrated ‘Ubada bin As-Samit : The Prophet said, “The (good) dreams of a

faithful believer is a part of the forty-six parts of prophethood.”

(Sahih Bukhari)



154

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Apostle said, “A good dream of a righteous

man is one of forty-six parts of prophethood.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

Narrated Abu Huraira: A llah’s Apostle said, “The (good) dream of a faithful

believer is a part of the forty-six parts of prophethood.”

(Sahih Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, “A good

dream is a part of the forty six parts of prophethood.”

(Sahih Bukhari)

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar

that the Messenger of Allah said, “All that would be left of prophet-hood

after me would be Mubashshirāt.” They asked, “What are Mubashshirāt, Oh

Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The true dream which a righteous man sees -

or which is shown to him - is a forty-sixth part of prophecy.”

(Muwatta Imām Malik) :

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, “Nothing is left of the

prophethood except al-Mubashshirāt.” They asked, “What are al-

Mubashshirāt?” He replied, “The true/good dreams (that conveys glad

tidings).”

(Sahih Bukhari)

Spiritual knowledge can also be accessed through divine

revelation in scriptures. Among the divinely-revealed scriptures are

the Torah (Taurāt), the Psalms (Zabūr), the Gospel (Injīl) and the

Qur’ān.

We now live in an age which has largely rejected the claim of

‘Ilm al-Bātin to be recognized as knowledge. There is an interesting

discussion on this subject in the introduction of our book on “Dreams

in Islam”. We have reproduced that introduction for the benefit of



155

readers as Appendix 1 of this book. There is another important

discussion on the subject in our essay entitled “Iqbal, the Sufi

Epistemology and the End of History” (See our book of essays entitled

‘Signs of the Last Day in the Modern Age’.) But perhaps the most

important discussion of all on this subject is to be found in the first

two chapters of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal’s important work entitled

“Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam”. The book can be

read at: www.allamaiqbal.com/works/prose/english/reconstruction.

The story of Musa and Khidr in Sūrah al-Kahf explains the

supreme importance of ‘Ilm al-Bātin in the age of Dajjāl “ . . . who

would come with a river and a fire – but his river would be a fire and his fire

would be a river”:

Narrated by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman: Subay’ ibn Khalid said: “I came to

Kufah at the time when Tustar was conquered. I took some mules from it.

When I entered the mosque (of Kufah), I found there some people of

moderate stature, and among them was a man whom you could recognize

when you saw him that he was from the people of Hijaz. I asked: Who is he?

The people frowned at me and said: Do you not recognize him? This is

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, the companion of the Messenger of Allah. Then

Hudhayfah said: People used to ask the Messenger of Allah about good, and I

used to ask him about evil. Then the people stared hard at him. He said: I

know the reason why you dislike it. I then asked: Messenger of Allah, will

there be evil as there was before, after th is good which Allah has bestowed on

us? He replied: Yes. I asked: Wherein does the protection from it lie? He

replied : In the sword (i.e., in armed resistance to oppression). I asked:

Messenger of Allah, what will then happen? He replied: If Allah has on earth

a Caliph who flays your back and takes your property, obey him, otherwise

die holding onto the stump of a tree. I asked: What will come next? He

replied : Then Dajjāl will come forth accompanied by a river and fire. He who

falls into his fire will certainly receive his reward, and have his load taken off



156

him, but he who falls into his river will have his load retained and his reward

taken off him. I then asked: What will come next? He said: The Last Hour

will come.”

(Sunan, Abū Dawūd)

The implication of the above Hadīth is that ‘appearance’ and

‘reality’ in the age of Dajjāl would differ significantly from each

other. The road to heaven, symbolized by the ‘river’, would

deceptively appear as a ‘fire’, while the road to hell, symbolized by a

‘fire’, would deceptively appear as a ‘river’. It is only those who are

blessed by Allah Most High with internal intuitive spiritual knowledge

who can penetrate the internal reality of the ‘river’, the ‘fire’, and of

the true nature of the world in the age of Dajjāl. They alone would

grasp with true knowledge Dajjāl’s attacks and hence would not be

deceived. It is for this reason that Prophet Muhammad (peace and

blessings of Allah Most High be upon him) constantly prayed: “Oh Allah kindly

show me things as they are (so that I might not be deceived by what they

appear to be)”.

Spiritual knowledge in this age is transmitted directly to the heart

of the believer. When the believer devotes himself to the study of the

Qur’ān and struggles to penetrate the internal reality of the Divine

Word, he may eventually be blessed with constantly unfolding

knowledge from an inexhaustible Qur’ān. Sūrah al-Kahf laments

mankind’s reluctance to travel that road through which the

inexhaustible knowledge of the Qur’ān can be accessed:

ô‰s) s9uρ $ sΨøù§�|À ’ Îû #x‹≈yδ Èβ#uö� à)ø9$# Ä¨$Ζ= Ï9 ÏΒ Èe≅à2 5≅sW tΒ 4 tβ%x.uρ

ß≈|¡ΡM}$# u�nY ò2r& &óx« Zωy‰y ∩∈⊆∪ ⟨



157

“Thus, indeed, have We given in this Qur'ān many facets to every kind of

lesson (designed) for (the benefit of) mankind. However, man is, above all

else, always given to contention (and hence he does not turn to the Qur’ān to

access that inexhaustible knowledge).”


This admonition of Allah Most High has been delivered many

times in the Qur’ān. But stubbornness, arrogance, pride,

contentiousness and a host of other human failings intervene to cause

men to either reject the Qur’ān, or to refuse to access it as an

inexhaustible source of ever-unfolding knowledge.

Instead of humble submission and earnest endeavor in order to

recognize Truth, man is stubbornly argumentative as he rejects, again

and again, the claim of the Qur’ān to be the revealed word of Allah

Most High, and an inexhaustible source of knowledge. Instead of

using externally derived knowledge to assist him in seeking to

understand the divinely revealed knowledge, man is today bombarded

with an onslaught of www.external-knowledge.com (i.e., the information

highway on the internet) that appears to be inexhaustible. This causes

the internal spiritual knowledge to dry up within his heart.

The story of Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) and Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) in

Sūrah al-Kahf portrays in a vivid manner the difference between one

who sees with one eye, and is thus capable of only external vision, and

one who sees with two eyes and is thus capable of seeing with both

the internal as well as external vision.

Khidr means green, and there is a Hadīth which explains how

Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) got his name:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said: “Al-Khidr was so named because he



158

sat over a barren white land and it turned green with plantation after that (i.e.,

his sitting over it).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

My opinion is that the name or title given to Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām)

indicates that whoever is blessed, as he was, with the capacity to see

with two eyes, would have knowledge that would be fresh and

evergreen, and hence spiritually rejuvenating. Such knowledge would

impact on people to bring dead hearts back to life. Knowledge would

constantly sprout up as new green vegetation in such a mind and heart

that enjoys a perpetual spring. Such knowledge can never be

exhausted.

The story of Musa and Khidr is told in a Hadīth. And since that

narration is crucially important for the understanding of the Qur’anic

narrative in Sūrah al-Kahf, let us begin by presenting it in its entirety:

“Uba’i ibn Ka’ab told us that the Prophet said: Once Moses stood up and

addressed Banū Isrāīl. He was asked “who was the most learned man

amongst the people”. He replied : “I (am the most learned)”. Allah

admonished him as he did not attribute the source of absolute knowledge to

Him (Allah). So Allah said to him: “at the junction of the two seas there is a

slave of Mine who is more learned than you are.” Moses asked: “0 my Lord!

How can I meet him?” Allah said: “Take a fish and put it in a large basket

and you will find him at the place where you will lose the fish.”

“Moses took a fish and put it in a basket and proceeded along with his

(servant) boy, Joshua (Yashu’ah ibn Nun), t ill they reached a rock where they

laid their heads (i.e. lay down). Moses slept, and while he was asleep the fish,

moving out of the basket, went into the sea. It took its way into the sea

(straight) as in a tunnel. Allah stopped the flow of water over the fish and it

became like an arch (the Prophet pointed out this arch with his hands).



159

“They traveled the rest of the night, and the next day Moses said to his boy

(servant): Give us our food, for indeed, we have suffered much fatigue in this

journey of ours. (But) Moses did not feel tired till he crossed that place which

Allah had ordered him to seek.

“His boy (servant) said to him: Do you know that when we were sitting near

that rock, I forgot the fish, (and none but Satan caused him to forget to speak

about it), and it took its course into the sea in an amazing way? So there was

a path for the fish and that astonished them. Moses said: That was what we

were seeking after.

“Both of them then retraced their footsteps till they reached the rock. There

they saw a man lying covered with a garment. Moses greeted him, and he

replied saying: How do people greet each other in your land? Moses said: I

am Moses. The man asked: Moses of Banū Isrāīl? Moses said: Yes. He then

continued: I have come to you so that you may teach me from those things

which Allah has taught you. He said: 0 Moses! I have some of the knowledge

of Allah which A llah has taught me and which you do not know, while you

have some of the knowledge of Allah which Allah has taught you and which

I do not know. Moses asked: May I follow you? He said: But you will not be

able to remain patient with me, for how can you be patient about things

which are beyond your capacity to comprehend? Moses said: You would find

me, if A llah so wills, tru ly patient, and I would not disobey you in aught.

“Both of them then set out walking along the sea-shore. A boat passed by

them, and they asked the crew of the boat to take them on board. The crew

recognized al-Khidr, so they took them on board without fare. When they

were on board the boat a sparrow came and stood on the edge of the boat and

dipped its beak once or twice into the sea. Al-Khidr said to Moses: 0 Moses!

My knowledge and your knowledge have not decreased Allah's knowledge

except as much as this sparrow has decreased the water of the sea with its

beak. Then suddenly al-Khidr took an adze (an instrument similar to a hoe or

plane) and pulled up a plank, and Moses did not notice it till he had pulled up

a plank with the adze. Moses said to him: What have you done? They took us



160

on board charging us nothing; yet you have intentionally made a hole in their

boat so as to drown its passengers. Verily, you have done a dreadful thing.

“Al-Khidr rep lied : Did I not tell you that you would not be able to remain

patient with me? Moses replied: Do not blame me for what I have forgotten,

and do not be hard upon me for my fault. So the first excuse of Moses was

that he had forgotten.

“When they had left the sea, they passed by a boy playing with other boys.

Al-Khidr took hold of the boy's head and plucked it with his hand like this.

(Sufyan, the sub-narrator gestured with his fingert ips as if he were plucking

some fruit .) Moses said to him: Have you killed an innocent person who has

not killed any person? You have really done a horrib le thing. Al-Khidr said:

Did I not tell you that you could not remain patient with me? Moses said: If I

ask you about anything after this, please leave me. I have made too many

excuses.

“Then both of them went on till they came to some people of a village, and

they asked its inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as

guests. Then they saw therein a wall which was about to collapse and al-

Khidr repaired it just by touching it with his hands. (Sufyan, the sub-narrator,

gestured with his hands, illustrating how al-Khidr passed his hands over the

wall upwards.) Moses said: These are the people whom we have called on,

but they neither gave us food, nor entertained us as guests, yet you have

repaired their wall. If you had wished, you could have charged a price for it.

“Al-Khidr said: This is the parting between you and me, and I shall tell you

the explanation of those things which you could not wait with patience (to

understand).

“The Prophet added: We wish that Moses could have remained patient by

virtue of which Allah might have told us more about their story. (Sufyan, the

sub-narrator, said that the Prophet said: May Allah bestow His Mercy on

Moses! If he had remained patient, we would have been told further about

their story.)”



161

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

We turn now to the parable of Musa and Khidr as narrated in Sūrah

al-Kahf. The passage begins at verse sixty and ends at verse eighty-

two:

Verse 60

øŒ Î) uρ tΑ$ s% 4y›θãΒ çµ9 tFx&Ï9 Iω ßy u�ö/r& # ®L xm xyè= ö/r& yìyϑ ôftΒ Ç ÷ƒu� óst7 ø9$# ÷ρr&

z ÅÓøΒ r& $ Y7 à)ãm ∩∉⊃∪ ⟨ “And (remember) when Moses said to his boy-servant: I will not give up

(traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas even if I have to spend

years and years in travel.”

Verse 61

$ £ϑn= sù $ tó n=t/ yìyϑ øg xΧ $ yϑÎγ ÏΖ÷� t/ $ u‹ Å¡nΣ $ yϑßγ s?θãm x‹sƒ ªB$$ sù … ã&s#‹ Î6y™ ’ Îû

Í� óst7ø9$# $ \/u�|� ∩∉⊇∪ ⟨ “But when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish,

and it took its way through the sea as in a tunnel.”

Verse 62

$ £ϑn= sù #y— uρ%y tΑ$ s% çµ9 tFx&Ï9 $sΨ Ï?#u $ tΡu!#y‰xî ô‰s)s9 $ uΖŠÉ) s9 ÏΒ $ tΡÍ� x&y™

#x‹≈yδ $ Y7 |ÁtΡ ∩∉⊄∪ ⟨



162

“So when they had passed further on (beyond that place), Moses said to his

boy-servant: Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much

fatigue in this, our journey.”

Verse 63

tΑ$s% |M÷ƒuu‘ r& øŒÎ) !$ uΖ÷ƒuρr& ’ n<Î) Ïοu� ÷‚¢Á9$# ’ÏoΤÎ* sù àMŠ Å¡nΣ |Nθçt ù: $# !$ tΒ uρ

çµ‹ Ï⊥9|¡øΣr& āωÎ) ß≈sÜø‹ ¤±9$# ÷βr& … çν u�ä.øŒ r& 4 x‹sƒ ªB $#uρ …ã&s#‹ Î6y™ ’ Îû Í� óst7ø9$# $ Y7pg x”

∩∉⊂∪ ⟨ “(The boy-servant) said: Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the

rock? I indeed forgot (to tell you about the strange thing that happened to)

the fish, and how it took its course into the sea in a strange (or marvelous

way)! But none other than Satan caused him to fo rget.”

Verse 64

tΑ$ s% y7 Ï9 sŒ $ tΒ $ ¨Ζä. Æyö7tΡ 4 #£‰s?ö‘ $$ sù #’ n?tã $ yϑ ÏδÍ‘$ rO#u $ TÁ|Ás% ∩∉⊆∪ ⟨

“(Moses) said: That is what we have been seeking. So they went back

retracing their way.”

Verse 65

#y‰y uθsù #Y‰ö6tã ô ÏiΒ !$ tΡÏŠ$ t6Ïã çµ≈ sΨ÷� s?#u Zπyϑ ômu‘ ôÏiΒ $ tΡÏ‰ΖÏã çµ≈ sΨ÷Κ ‾= tæuρ

ÏΒ $ ‾Ρà$ ©! $ Vϑù= Ïã ∩∉∈∪ ⟨ “Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed mercy

from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us (i.e., We inspired him

with knowledge directly from the divine presence).”



163

Verse 66

tΑ$s% … çµs9 4 y›θãΒ ö≅yδ y7ãè Î7?r& #’n?tã βr& Ç yϑ Ïk=yè è? $ £ϑ ÏΒ |Môϑ Ïk= ãã #Y‰ô©â‘

∩∉∉∪ ⟨

“Moses said to him (Khidr): May I follow you so that you teach me

something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been

taught (by Allah)?”

Verse 67

tΑ$ s% y7 ‾ΡÎ) s9 yì‹ÏÜtGó¡n@ zÉë tΒ #[�ö9 |¹ ∩∉∠∪ ⟨

“He (Khidr) said: Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me!”

Verse 68

y#ø‹ x.uρ ã�É9 óÁs? 4’ n?tã $ tΒ óΟs9 ñÝÏt éB ÏµÎ/ #[�ö9 äz ∩∉∇∪ ⟨

“And how can you have patience about that which you know not?”

Verse 69

tΑ$ s% þ’ ÏΤß‰ÅftFy™ βÎ) u!$ x© ª!$# #X� Î/$ |¹ Iωuρ ÅÂôã r& y7s9 #X�øΒ r& ∩∉∪ ⟨

“(Moses) said: If Allah wills, you would find me patient, and I would not

disobey you in aught.”

Verse 70



164

tΑ$ s% ÈβÎ* sù É_ tF÷èt7 ¨?$# Ÿξsù É_ ù= t↔ó¡s? tã >ó x« # ®L xm y Ï‰÷né& y7 s9 çµ÷ΖÏΒ

#X� ø.ÏŒ ∩∠⊃∪ ⟨

“He (Khidr) said: If you are to follow me, then you must not ask me about

anything until I myself exp lain it to you.”

Verse 71

$ s) n=sÜΡ$$ sù # ®L xm #sŒÎ) $ t6Ï.u‘ ’ Îû ÏπuΖŠ Ï&¡¡9$# $ yγs%u� yz ( tΑ$s% $ pκyJ ø%u�yz r& s− Í� øóçFÏ9

$ yγn= ÷δr& ô‰s)s9 |M÷∞ Å_ $↔ ø‹ x© #X� øΒ Î) ∩∠⊇∪ ⟨ “So they both proceeded, till, when they were in the ship, he (Khidr) scuttled

it. Moses said: Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you

have done a thing which is Imra (i.e., a Munkar or evil, bad, and dreadful).”

Verse 72

tΑ$ s% óΟs9r& ö≅è%r& y7 ‾ΡÎ) s9 yì‹ÏÜtGó¡n@ zÉë tΒ #[�ö9 |¹ ∩∠⊄∪ ⟨

“He (Khidr) said: Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have

patience with me?”

Verse 73

tΑ$ s% Ÿω ’ ÏΤõ‹½z#xσè? $ yϑ Î/ àMŠÅ¡nΣ Ÿωuρ É_ ø) Ïδö�è? ôÏΒ “Í� øΒr& #[�ô£ ãã ∩∠⊂∪

⟨



165

“(Moses) said: Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon

me in this matter of mine.”

Verse 74

$ s)n= sÜΡ$$ sù # ®L xm #sŒ Î) $ u‹É) s9 $Vϑ≈n= äñ … ã&s#tGs)sù tΑ$ s% |M ù= tGs%r& $ T¡ø& tΡ Oπ§‹Ï.y—

Î�ö�tó Î/ <§ø&tΡ ô‰s) ©9 |M ÷∞Å_ $ Z↔ø‹ x© #X� õ3œΡ ∩∠⊆∪ ⟨ “Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, he (Khidr) killed him. Moses

said: Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you

have done a thing which is Nukra (i.e., a great Munkar or prohibited, evil,

dreadful)!”

Verse 75

* tΑ$ s% óΟs9r& ≅è%r& y7 ©9 y7 ‾ΡÎ) s9 yì‹ ÏÜtGó¡n@ z ÉëtΒ #[�ö9|¹ ∩∠∈∪ ⟨

“(Khidr) said: Did I not tell you that you would not have patience with me?”

Verse 76

tΑ$ s% βÎ) y7 çGø9r' y™ tã ¥óx« $ yδy‰÷èt/ Ÿξsù É_ ö6Ås≈|Áè? ( ô‰s% |M øó n=t/

ÏΒ ’ ÏoΤß‰©9 #Y‘ õ‹ãã ∩∠∉∪ ⟨

“(Moses) said: If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company,

you have received enough excuses from me.”

Verse 77



166

$ s)n= sÜΡ$$ sù # ®L xm !#sŒ Î) !$u‹ s?r& Ÿ≅÷δr& >πtƒö� s% !$ yϑ yèôÜtGó™$# $ yγn= ÷δr& (#öθt/r' sù βr&

$ yϑèδθà& Íh‹ ŸÒãƒ #y‰y uθsù $ pκ�Ïù #Y‘#y‰É` ß‰ƒÍ� ãƒ βr& āÙs)Ζtƒ …çµtΒ$ s%r' sù ( tΑ$s%

öθs9 |Mø⁄ Ï© |Nõ‹y‚−Gs9 Ïµø‹ n= tã #X� ô_r& ∩∠∠∪ ⟨

“Then they both proceeded, till, when they came to the people of a town, they

asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found

therein a wall about to collapse and he (Khidr) set it up straight. (Moses) said:

If you had wished, surely you could have charged a price for it!”

Verse 78

tΑ$s% #x‹≈ yδ ä−#u�Ïù É_ øŠ t/ y7 ÏΖ÷� t/uρ 4 y7ã⁄ Îm;tΡé' y™ È≅ƒÍρù' tGÎ/ $ tΒ óΟs9 ìÏÜtGó¡n@

ÏµøŠ n=æ #¶�ö9|¹ ∩∠∇∪ ⟨

“(Khidr) said: This is the parting between me and you. I will tell you the

interpretation of (those) things over which you were unable to hold patience.”

Verse 79

$ ¨Β r& èπsΨ‹Ï& ¡¡9$# ôM tΡ% s3sù tÅ3≈ |¡yϑ Ï9 tβθè= yϑ÷è tƒ ’ Îû Í� óst7 ø9$# ‘NŠ u‘ r' sù ÷βr&

$ pκz:‹Ïã r& tβ% x.uρ Ν èδu!#u‘ uρ Ô7 Ï=Β ä‹è{ù' tƒ ¨≅ä. >πuΖŠ Ï& y™ $ Y7 óÁxî ∩∠∪ ⟨

“As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working in the sea. I decided to

make it defective by damaging it, because there was a king after them who

was seizing every ship by force.”

Verse 80



167

$ ¨Βr& uρ ÞΟ≈ n=äó ø9$# tβ%s3sù çν#uθt/r& È ÷uΖÏΒ ÷σãΒ !$uΖŠ Ï±y‚sù βr& $ yϑßγ s)Ïδö� ãƒ $ YΖ≈ u‹øó èÛ

#X� ø&à2uρ ∩∇⊃∪ ⟨

“And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared lest he should

oppress them by rebellion and disbelief.”

Verse 81

!$ tΡôŠ u‘ r' sù βr& $yϑ ßγs9Ï‰ö7 ãƒ $ yϑåκ›5 u‘ #[�ö� yz çµ÷ΖÏiΒ Zο4θx.y— z>u� ø%r& uρ $ YΗ÷q â‘ ∩∇⊇∪ ⟨

“So we intended that their Lord should exchange him for them with one

better in righteousness and nearer to (being a source of) mercy (for them).”

Verse 82

$ ¨Βr& uρ â‘#y‰Åg ù: $# tβ%s3sù È ÷yϑ≈n=äó Ï9 È ÷yϑŠÏKtƒ ’ Îû ÏπuΖƒÏ‰yϑ ø9$# šχ%x.uρ … çµtFøt rB

Ö”∴ x. $ yϑ ßγ©9 tβ%x.uρ $yϑ èδθç/r& $ [sÏ=≈|¹ yŠ#u‘ r' sù y7 š/u‘ βr& !$ tóè= ö7 tƒ $ yϑèδ£‰ä©r&

%y Í� ÷‚tGó¡tƒuρ $ yϑ èδu”∴ x. Zπyϑ ômu‘ ÏiΒ y7 În/§‘ 4 $ tΒ uρ … çµçGù=yè sù ô tã “Í� øΒ r& 4 y7 Ï9 sŒ ã≅ƒÍρ ù's? $ tΒ óΟs9 ìÏÜó¡n@ ÏµøŠ n= ¨æ #[�ö9 |¹ ∩∇⊄∪ ⟨

“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and

(buried) under it was (concealed) a treasure belonging to them; and their

father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain

their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy from your

Lord. And I d id it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those

(things) over which you could not show patience.”



168

(Qur’ān, Sūrah al-Kahf, 18: -60-82)

The ominous implications of internal blindness and Khidr’s

message to Muslims in this age

The implication of this story in Sūrah al-Kahf, the Surah of the

Qur’ān that protects us from the Fitnah of Dajjāl, is that the age of

Dajjāl would witness the emergence of an epistemology that would

recognize knowledge from only external observation. Anyone who

embraces that epistemology of secularized knowledge would become

internally spiritually blind. When people accept only one source of

knowledge, the external and the observable, they eventually become

people who see with only one eye, the external eye, and who

consequently become internally or spiritually blind. When people are

internally or spiritually blind they would also be spiritually deaf and

the remembrance of Allah will depart from their hearts. Religion

would then become a mere formality, something restricted to ‘name’

only, i.e., to external form, but devoid of internal substance. The

Qur’ān makes mention of this phenomenon that would characterize

the age of Dajjāl:

ô‰s)s9uρ $tΡù& u‘ sŒ zΟΨ yγyfÏ9 #[��ÏW x. š∅ÏiΒ ÇdÅg ù: $# Ä§ΡM}$#uρ ( öΝ çλm; Ò>θè= è% āω šχθßγ s)ø& tƒ $pκÍ5 öΝ çλm;uρ ×ãôã r& āω tβρ ã�ÅÇö7 ãƒ $ pκÍ5 öΝçλm;uρ ×β#sŒ#u āω

tβθãè uΚó¡o„ !$ pκÍ5 4 y7Í× ‾≈ s9'ρé& ÉΟ≈yè ÷ΡF{$% x. ö≅t/ öΝ èδ ‘≅|Êr& 4 y7Í× ‾≈s9'ρ é& ãΝèδ

šχθè= Ï&≈tóø9$# ∩⊇∠∪ ⟨

“Many are the Jinns and men We have made for Hell: they have hearts



169

wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears

wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle , nay more misguided: for they

are heedless (of warning).”

(Qur’ān, al-‘Arāf, 7:179)

Ü=Ïk= s)çΡuρ öΝåκsE y‰Ï↔ øùr& öΝèδu�≈ |Áö/r& uρ $ yϑx. óΟs9 (#θãΖÏΒ ÷σãƒ ÿ ÏµÎ/ tΑ ¨ρ r& ;ο §÷s∆

öΝ èδâ‘ x‹tΡuρ ’ Îû óΟÎγÏΖ≈ uŠøó èÛ tβθßγyϑ ÷ètƒ ∩⊇⊇⊃∪ ⟨

“We (too) shall turn to (confusion) their hearts and their eyes, even as they

refused to believe in this in the first instance: We shall leave them in their

trespasses, to wander in distraction.”

(Qur’ān, al-An’ām, 6:110)

zΝ tFyz ª!$# 4’ n?tã öΝÎγ Î/θè= è% 4’n?tã uρ öΝÎγ Ïèôϑ y™ ( #’ n?tãuρ öΝÏδÍ�≈ |Áö/r& ×ο uθ≈t±Ïî ( öΝ ßγs9uρ ë>#x‹tã ÒΟŠ Ïàtã ∩∠∪ ⟨

“Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is

a veil; great is the penalty (they incur).”


tÏ% ©!$# ôMtΡ% x. öΝ åκß]ã‹ôã r& ’ Îû >!$ sÜÏî tã “Í� ø.ÏŒ (#θçΡ% x.uρ Ÿω šχθãè‹ÏÜtFó¡o„ $�è øÿxœ ∩⊇⊃⊇∪ ⟨

“(Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from Remembrance of Me,

and who had been unable even to hear.”


The age of Dajjāl would be the age of scientific empirical, to



170

wit: knowledge that can come only through external observation. That

age would so secularise knowledge as to conclude that there is no

reality beyond material reality. It would embrace the Kufr of

materialism. It is our firm opinion that we are now living in that age of

Kufr, the age of Dajjāl the great Kafir.

Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) formulated his judgment on the basis of

external observation of all three events in the story. And on all three

occasions his judgment was wrong. He condemned the damage done

to the boat. And the reality was that the damage done to the boat

protected it from being seized by the King. The ominous implication

for mankind is that they also can be mistaken in their judgment, and

can pay a terrible price for mistakes. Muslims must search for the

guide who, like Khidr, is blessed with internal knowledge, and when

they find such a guide they should follow him.

Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) did more in this event than merely protect

the poor boatman’s property. He sent a powerful message to believers who

live in the modern age of Dajjāl the false Messiah, that they would protect

their wealth, property and even their lives from predators, bandits,

kidnappers and the oppression of those who rule over them, if they ensure

that their visible property (i.e., their boat) remains unattractive to the

predators. He also delivered an imortant lesson concerning law, i.e., that the

moral law is the highest law. If, therefore, in adherence to the moral law, one

has to disregard the law of the land, then the believer must give preference to

moral law.

Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) condemned the killing of the boy when,

in fact, the boy would grow up to become a Kafir whose Kufr would

pose a threat to the faith of his parents. In killing the boy Khidr (‘alaihi



171

al-Salām) got rid of a Kafir and saved the faith of his believing parents

while praying that Allah Most Kind might replace that son with

another who would be a source of comfort and happiness for his

parents.

Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) did more in this event than merely protect

the faith of the boy’s parents. He sent a powerful message to believers that

when they are confronted by the Kufr of the modern godless age brought

about by Dajjāl the false Messiah, they must follow the example of Khidr

(‘alaihi al-Salām) in killing the boy by cutting themselves off from that world of

Kufr while praying to Allah Most High to replace it with a better world in

which believers could live with security of faith. The second implication of

the killing of the boy is that they should nip the evil of Kufr in the bud and not

allow it to grow until it becomes full-blown Kufr.

Moses (‘alaihi al-Salām) perceived the construction of the wall that

was collapsing to have been a favor to the people of the town, a favor

they did not deserve because of their inhospitable treatment to the two

hungry and tired travelers. For this reason he felt that they should be

made to pay for it. The reality was that in reconstructing the wall

Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) prevented the people of the town from gaining

access to the wealth that was buried beneath the wall. He thus

protected the treasure for the two orphans who would thus be able to

receive it and benefit from it when they come of age.

Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) did more than merely rebuild the wall to

protect the orphan’s wealth. He sent a powerful message to believers

confronted by the ‘war on Islam’ brought about by Dajjāl the false

Messiah. When they witness attempts to dismantle the house of Islam,

they must emulate Khidr (‘alaihi al-Salām) by rebuilding that house so

that the treasure of Truth in Islam might be preserved for the next



172

generation. My view is the fast collapsing house of Islam in the

modern age can best be reconstructed or repaired through the

establishment of thousands of small Muslim Villages in the remote

countryside locations. Such Muslim Villages would have a status akin

to the treasure buried beneath the wall. The important point to note is

that Allah Most High would Himself protect such Villages from harm

in the same way that He protected the treasure in this parable in

Sūrah al-Kahf.

Dajjāl, Moses, and Khidr

Who is Dajjāl? How important is the subject of Dajjāl in Islam?

Why is he known as al-Masīh ad-Dajjāl (the False Messiah or Anti-

Christ)? And how is this story of Musa) and Khidr in Sūrah al-Kahf

of the Qur’ān related to the subject of Dajjāl? It is these fascinating

and intriguing questions that we now attempt to answer.

The importance of the subject of Dajjāl in Islam is quite

apparent from the fact that the blessed Prophet (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa

sallam) has asked the believers to pray in their Salāt itself for protection

from Dajjāl. Consider the following Ahadīth narrated by Aisha, Abū

Hurairah and Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with them all):

“Narrated by Aisha, the wife of the Prophet: Allah’s Messenger used to

invoke Allah in the salaat saying: Allahumma inn i a’udhu bika min adhab al-

qabri, wa a’udhu bika min fitnah al-Masīh al-Dajjāl, wa a’udhu bika min

fitnah al-mahya wa fitnah al-mamat. Allahumma inni a’udhu bika min al-

mathami wa al-maghrami. (O Allah, I seek refuge with Thee from the

punishment of the grave and from the trials of al-Masīh al-Dajjāl and from

the trials of life and death. O Allah, I seek refuge with you from sin and from

debt).”



173

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Abū Hurairah : A llah’s Messenger used to invoke (Allah as

follows): Allahumma ini a’udhu bika min ‘adhab al-qabri, wa min ‘adhab al-

nar, wa min fitnah al-mahya wa al-mamat, wa min fitnah al-Masīh al-Dajjāl.

(O Allah! I seek refuge with Thee from the punishment of the grave, and

from the punishment of the Hell-fire, and from the afflict ions of life and

death, and the afflictions of al-Masīh al-Dajjāl).”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Messenger used to invoke thus: O

Allah! I seek refuge with Thee from miserliness, laziness, from (the infirmity

of) old age, the punishment in the grave, from the Fitnah (afflictions) of

Dajjāl, and from the Fitnah (afflictions) of life and death.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Aisha: I heard Allah’s Messenger in his prayer seeking refuge

with Allah from the Fitnah (afflictions) of Dajjāl.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah said: When any one of you

completes the last Tashahhud (with which Salāt is to be completed), he

should seek refuge with Allah from four (trials), i.e. from the torment of Hell,

from the torment of grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the evil

of al-Masīh al-Dajjāl (Antichrist).”

(Sahīh Muslim)

It is strange indeed that Muslims should pray to Allah Most

High in Salāt for protection from Dajjāl, and yet remain in a state of

profound ignorance about the subject despite the fact that the Qur’ān

and the Prophet (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) have both taught about

Dajjāl? That is precisely the general state of Muslims today, i.e., one

of either ignorance or confusion regarding the subject of Dajjāl.

The Prophet (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) not only asked the



174

believers to pray to Allah for protection from Dajjāl, but he also

advised the believers to stay far away from Dajjāl since he would be

very dangerous. He also informed us of the precise nature of the

greatest danger posed by Dajjāl. It would be our incapacity to

understand the reality of the world in the age of Dajjāl, whose primary

objective would be to corrupt mankind’s capacity to recognise ‘truth’

and ‘true religion’. People would stick blindly and stubbornly to

falsehood as well as to corrupted truth, while rejecting the uncorrupted

truth in the Qur’an. The Prophet (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) explained

that Dajjāl’s attack would be global in scope, and so all of mankind

would be targeted:

“Narrated by ‘Imran ibn Husayn: The Prophet said: Let h im who hears of the

Dajjāl go far from him for I swear by Allah that a man will come to him

thinking he is a believer and follow him because of confused ideas roused in

him by him (i.e ., Dajjāl).”

(Sunan Abu Dāūd)

“Narrated by Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said: There will be no town which

Dajjāl would not enter except Makkah and Madina. And there would be no

entrance (road) (of both Makkah and Madina) but the angels would be

standing in rows guarding it against him, and then Madina would shake with

its inhabitants thrice (i.e., three earthquakes would take p lace) and Allah

would expel all the disbelievers and the hypocrites from it.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

In view of the nature of the tests and trials posed by Dajjāl the

Prophet (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) warned that this would be the

greatest Fitnah (test or trial) that mankind would experience from the

time of Adam (‘alaihi al-Salām) until the last day.

He further informed us that when the mission of Dajjāl is



175

nearing completion, Allah would raise Imam al-Mahdi from amongst

the descendents of Prophet Muhammad (sdallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Dajjāl would attack him in order to destroy him. But Allah would

then cause Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salām) to descend from the heavens, and he

would kill Dajjāl. Only then would the long and horrid night of

temptation and evil end.

We have argued in our book, ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’ān’, which

is a companion volume to this book, that we are now quite close to the

moment when the Son of Mary would return. The implication is that

the release of Dajjāl into the world took place quite some time ago.

This author is convinced that Dajjāl is the mastermind behind

the emergence of secular materialist Western civilization, it’s modern

thought, and the modern lifestyle it fashions and then refashions with

even greater decadence. It is that civilization which is subjecting

mankind to the supreme test (Fitnah) of which the Prophet warned. A

basic feature of this book is the insistence that Sūrah al-Kahf is not

only to be read, but also studied, if believers are to be protected from

that Fitnah of Dajjāl.

This book warns that the Euro-Christian and Euro-Jewish modern

way of life that is now being uncritically adopted by most of mankind,

including most Muslims, is insidiously deceptive and can mislead

even the best of believers. We are living in that age in which the faith

of the masses of Muslims is already eroded. Certainly, one of the

many ways with which we can respond to this calamity is by

redirecting attention to Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān and by making an

effort to use the Surah to understand the world today.

Dajjāl’s internal blindness – he sees with only one eye



176

Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) has conveyed to us

important information concerning the most important of all the

characteristics of Dajjāl the false Messiah. He sees with only ‘one’

eye and hence is capable of accessing only ‘Ilm al-Zāhir or empirical

knowledge. He is blind in the ‘right’ eye and this symbolizes internal

blindness. Hence he denies the existence of ‘Ilm al-Bātin or internal

spiritual knowledge:

“Ibn Umar said: Once Allah’s Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified

and praised Allah as He deserved, and then mentioned Dajjāl saying: “I warn

you against him (i.e . Dajjāl) and there was no Prophet but warned his nation

against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him, but I tell you

about him something of which no Prophet told his nation before me. You

should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Abdullah bin Umar: Allah’s Messenger stood up amongst the

people and then praised and glorified Allah as He deserved and then he made

mention of Dajjāl, saying: I warn you of him, and there was no Prophet but

warned his fo llowers of him; but I will tell you something about him which

no Prophet has told his followers: Dajjāl is one-eyed whereas Allah is not.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Abdullah: Dajjāl was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet.

The Prophet said: Allah is not hidden from you; He is not one-eyed, and

pointed with his hand towards his eye, adding: while al-Masīh ad-Dajjāl is

blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a protruding grape.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Ubadah ibn as-Samit: The Prophet said: I have told you so

much about the Dajjāl that I am afraid you may not understand. Dajjāl is

short, hen-toed, woolly-haired, one-eyed, an eye-sightless, and neither



177

protruding nor deep-seated. If you are confused about him, know that your

Lord is not one-eyed”

(Sunan Abū Dāūd)

“Ibn Umar said: We were talking about Hajjat-u l-Wada’ while the Prophet

was amongst us. We did not know what Hajjat-u l-Wada’ signified. The

Prophet praised Allah and then mentioned al-Masīh al-Dajjāl and described

him extensively, saying: “Allah did not send any Prophet but that Prophet

warned his nation of al-Masīh al-Dajjāl. Noah and the Prophets following

him warned (their people) of him. He will appear amongst you (O

Muhammad’s followers), and if it happens that some of his qualities may be

hidden from you, but your Lord's State is clear to you and not hidden from

you. The Prophet said it thrice: “Verily, your Lord is not blind in one eye,

while he (i.e. Dajjāl) is blind in the right eye which looks like a g rape bulging

out (of its cluster). . . .”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)

“Narrated by Abdullah: The Prophet made mention of al-Masīh al- Dajjāl

(Dajjāl the false Messiah) in front of the people saying: Allah is not one eyed

while al-Masīh al-Dajjāl is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a

bulging out grape. While sleeping near the Ka’aba last night, I saw in my

dream a man of brown color, the best one can see amongst brown color, and

his hair was so long that it fell between his shoulders. His hair was lank and

water was dribbling from h is head and he was placing his hands on the

shoulders of two men while circumambulat ing the Ka’aba. I asked: Who is

this? They replied: This is Jesus, son of Mary. Behind him I saw a man who

had very curly hair and was blind in the right eye, resembling Ibn Qatan (i.e.

a disbeliever amongst the Arabs) in appearance. He was placing his hands on

the shoulders of a person while performing Tawaf around the Ka’aba (i.e.,

going round and round the Kaa’ba). I asked : Who is this? They replied: al-

Masīh al-Dajjāl.”

(Sahīh Bukhāri)



178

“Narrated by Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said: No prophet was sent but that

he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Dajjāl). Beware! He is

blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so. And there will be written between

his (Dajjāl’s) eyes (the word) Kāfir (i.e., d isbeliever). (This hadīth is also

transmitted by Abu Huraira and Ibn ‘Abbās).

(Sahih Bukhāri)

Dajjāl’s blind eye looks like a bulging grape

“Narrated by Abdullah: The Prophet made mention of al-Masīh al- Dajjāl

(Dajjāl the false Messiah) in front of the people saying: Allah is not one eyed

while al-Masīh al-Dajjāl is blind in the right eye and his eye looks like a

bulging out grape . . . .”

(Sahīh, al-Bukhāri)

The description pertaining to the bulging grape indicates that the

spiritual blindness of Dajjāl and of all who follow him would be quite

evident to those who see with both eyes. It would as plainly visible to

them as would be a bulging grape! The only ones who would be

unable to recognize that spiritual blindness, i.e., unable to recognize

the eye which looks like a bulging grape, would be those who are

themselves spiritually blind.

It should be clear that the information pertaining to Dajjāl's eyes

relates to religious symbolism and is not to be understood literally.

The following evidence conclusively demonstrates the above. Firstly,

the Prophet (sallalahu 'alahi wa sallam) suspected a Jewish boy in Madina

to have been Dajjāl even though that boy was not literally one-eyed.

Secondly, when Tamīm al-Dārī met with Dajjāl in person, and then

gave to the Prophet (sallalahu 'alahi wa sallam) an eye-witness account of

that meeting and a description of Dajjāl, there was no mention of his



179

one eye. That should have been the most conspicuous thing of all

about his physical appearance if he was literally blind in the right eye.

The word Kafir written between Dajjāl’s eyes

“Narrated by Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said: No prophet was sent but that

he warned his followers against the one-eyed liar (Dajjāl). Beware! He is

blind in one eye, and your Lord is not so. And there will be written between

his (Dajjāl’s) eyes (the word) Kafir (i.e., d isbeliever). (Th is Hadīth is also

transmitted by Abu Huraira and Ibn ‘Abbās).

(Sahīh, al-Bukhāri)

The proof that the interpretation of the Hadīth pertaining to

Dajjāl’s above attack on mankind (i.e., the attack that is linked to his

eyes) is epistemological, i.e., pertaining to knowledge, the sources of

knowledge, and the means of acquiring knowledge, is located in the

crucially important Hadīth which places the word Kafir between the

two eyes of Dajjāl. Since his Kufr is located between his eyes it is

related to his ‘sight’ or his capacity to see and thus to acquire

knowledge. Secondly, the Hadīth makes it quite clear that the Kufr of

Dajjāl, and hence of the age of Dajjāl, would be quite evident, i.e., not

concealed. Someone would have to be blind not to be able to

recognize that Kufr since it would be written between the eyes, i.e.,

between the external and the internal capacities for sight.

One of the defining characteristics of modern Euro-Jewish and

Euro-Christian western civilization is the Kufr that has resulted from

the secularization of knowledge and hence, the rejection of spiritual

insight as a source of knowledge. The only knowledge recognized by

Judeo-Christian West is knowledge of that which can be observed

with external faculties of sight etc., and is thus located in the material



180

universe. The West does not at all conceal this defining characteristic

which is so manifest that it is as though the word Kāfir is written

between its eyes. We do not say that modern western civilization is

Dajjāl. Rather we hold that it is the creation of Dajjāl and that it

serves Dajjāl. The implication is that all those who imitate modern

western civilization will become followers of Dajjāl and would

eventually embrace his godlessness and have their faith in Allah

destroyed. Allah Most High has already declared that 999 out of every

1000 of mankind would be thus ruined and enter into hell-fire!

Allah Most High is not One-Eyed

In so far as this subject is concerned a one-eyed man is a man

who sees with only one eye, i.e., the external eye. All those who

follow Dajjāl and the way of life he would establish would all become

one-eyed people. When the Hadīth declared that Allah is not one-

eyed, what this meant is that Allah is capable of seeing both that

which is al-Zāhir (manifest) as well as that which is al-Batin (hidden

and concealed). Thus He can see both ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’, both

‘form’ and ‘substance’. Allah declares such about Himself in the

Qur’ān:

uθèδ ãΑ ¨ρF{$# ã�½z Fψ$#uρ ã� Îγ≈©à9$#uρ ßÏÛ$t7 ø9$#uρ ( uθèδuρ Èe≅ä3Î/ >óx« îΛ Ï= tæ ∩⊂∪

⟨

“He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Hidden: and He has full

knowledge of all things.”

(Qur’ān, al-Hadīd, 57:3)



181

When Musa (‘alaihi al-Salām) replied to the effect that he was the

most learned of all men he made the mistake of failing to

acknowledge that all knowledge comes from Allah Most High and

that He, Allah, is the most learned of all. Nor did he acknowledge that

his knowledge was infinitely small and minute when compared with

the knowledge of He who is the most learned of all. This is precisely

what happens when knowledge is secularized.



182

CHAPTER EIGTH

THE STORY OF DHŪL QARNAIN

The Jewish Rabbis in Madina had given the Arabs of the tribe

of Quraish three questions to put before Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu

‘alaihi wa sallam) in order to test whether or not he was indeed a true

Prophet of Allah Most High. One of the three questions pertained to

the great traveler who traveled to the two ends of the earth. In posing

that question the Rabbis were, in our view, seeking to discover

whether or not Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) knew about one of

the major Signs of the Last Day, namely, Gog and Magog.

Before we attempt to explain the subject of Dhūl Qarnain and

its implications for the modern age, let us first record the Qur’anic

response to the question posed by the Rabbis concerning the great

traveler. The answer commences with verse eighty-three of Sūrah al-

Kahf and continues until verse one hundred and one:

Verse 83

y7 tΡθè= t↔ó¡o„uρ tã “ÏŒ È ÷tΡö� s)ø9$# ( ö≅è% (#θè= ø?r' y™ Ν ä3øŠ n=tæ çµ÷ΖÏiΒ #�� ò2ÏŒ

∩∇⊂∪ ⟨

“And they (the Rabbis) ask thee (Oh Muhammad) concerning Dhūl Qarnain.

Say, I will relate to you something of his story.”



183

Verse 84

$ ‾ΡÎ) $ ¨Ψ©3tΒ … çµs9 ’ Îû ÇÚö‘ F{$# çµ≈ sΨ÷� s?#uuρ ÏΒ Èe≅ä. &óx« $Y7 t6y™ ∩∇⊆∪ ⟨

“Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and

means to all ends.”

Verse 85

yìt7 ø?r' sù $ �7 t6y™ ∩∇∈∪ ⟨

“One (such) way he followed,”

Verse 86

# ®L xm #sŒÎ) xyn= t/ z>Í� øótΒ Ä§ôϑ¤±9$# $ yδy‰y uρ Ü>ã� øós? ’ Îû B÷tã

7πt⁄ Ïϑxm y‰y uρuρ $ yδy‰ΖÏã $ YΒöθs% 3 $ uΖù= è% #x‹≈ tƒ È ÷tΡö� s) ø9$# !$ ¨Β Î) βr& z>Éj‹yè è?

!$ ¨Β Î)uρ βr& x‹Ï‚−Gs? öΝ Îκ�Ïù $ YΖó¡ãm ∩∇∉∪ ⟨

Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of

murky water (i.e., the Black Sea - Tafsīr Jalālain). Near it he found a people.

We said: “O Dhūl Qarnain! (thou hast authority) either to punish them or to

treat them with kindness.”

Verse 87



184

tΑ$s% $ ¨Β r& tΒ zΟn=sß t∃öθ|¡sù … çµç/Éj‹yèçΡ ¢ΟèO –Šu� ãƒ 4’ n< Î) ÏµÎn/u‘ …çµç/Éj‹yè ãŠsù

$ \/#x‹tã #X� õ3œΡ ∩∇∠∪ ⟨

“He said: Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent

back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard-of

(before).”

Verse 88

$ ¨Β r& uρ ô tΒ ztΒ#u Ÿ≅ÏΗ xåuρ $ [sÏ=≈ |¹ …ã&s#sù ¹!#u“ y_ 4 o_ ó¡çtù: $# ( ãΑθà)uΖy™uρ

… çµs9 ô ÏΒ $ tΡÍ� øΒ r& #[�ô£ ç„ ∩∇∇∪ ⟨

“But whoever believes, and works righteousness, he shall have a goodly

reward, and easy will be h is task as we order it by our command.”

Verse 89

§Ν èO yìt7ø?r& $ �7 t6y™ ∩∇∪ ⟨

“Then followed he (another) way.”

Verse 90

# ®L xm #sŒ Î) xyn= t/ yìÏ= ôÜtΒ Ä§ôϑ ¤±9$# $ yδy‰y uρ ßìè=ôÜs? 4’n?tã 5Θöθs% óΟ©9

≅yè øgwΥ Οßγ©9 ÏiΒ $ pκÏΞρßŠ #[�øIÅ™ ∩⊃∪ ⟨



185

“Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people

for whom We had provided no covering protection (perhaps against the

sun).”

Verse 91

y7 Ï9 x‹x. ô‰s%uρ $ uΖôÜxmr& $yϑ Î/ Ïµ÷ƒy‰s9 #[�ö9 äz ∩⊇∪ ⟨

“(He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before

him.” (i.e., why he acted as he did).”

Verse 92

§Ν èO yìt6ø?r& $ �7t6y™ ∩⊄∪ ⟨

“Then he followed (another) way.”

Verse 93

# ®L xm #sŒÎ) xyn= t/ t ÷t/ È ø £‰¡¡9$# y‰y uρ ∅ÏΒ $ yϑÎγ ÏΡρ ßŠ $ YΒ öθs% āω tβρßŠ% s3tƒ tβθßγs) ø&tƒ Zωöθs% ∩⊂∪ ⟨

“Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found beneath

them a people who scarcely understood a word (i.e., they could not

understand his language).”

Verse 94



186

(#θä9$ s% #x‹≈ tƒ È÷tΡö� s) ø9$# ¨βÎ) ylθã_ù' tƒ ylθã_ù'tΒ uρ tβρ ß‰Å¡ø&ãΒ ’ Îû

ÇÚö‘ F{$# ö≅yγsù ã≅yèøg wΥ y7 s9 % ¹ ö� yz #’ n?tã βr& Ÿ≅yè øgrB $ sΨ uΖ÷� t/ öΝßγ sΨ÷� t/uρ #t‰y™

∩⊆∪ ⟨

“They said: O Dhul Qarnain! Gog and Magog corrupt (our) territory with

acts of great oppression and corruption. Can we offer you tribute (i.e., pay

you) in order that you might erect a barrier between us and them?”

Verse 95

tΑ$s% $ tΒ Éi_ ©3tΒ ÏµŠ Ïù ’ Ïn1u‘ Ö�ö� yz ’ÏΤθãΨ‹ Ïã r' sù >ο §θà)Î/ ö≅yè ô_r& öΝä3sΨ ÷� t/

öΝ æηuΖ÷� t/uρ $ �Β ôŠu‘ ∩∈∪ ⟨

“He said: (the power) in which my Lord has established me is better (than

tribute): help me therefore with manpower (i.e.,labour): I will erect a strong

barrier between you and them.”

Verse 96

’ ÏΤθè?#u u� t/ã— Ï‰ƒÏ‰ut ù: $# ( # ®L xm #sŒ Î) 3“uρ$y™ t ÷t/ È ÷sùy‰¢Á9$# tΑ$s%

(#θã‚à&Ρ$# ( #®L xm #sŒÎ) …ã&s#yè y_ #Y‘$ tΡ tΑ$s% þ’ÏΤθè?#u ùøÍ� øùé& Ïµø‹ n=tã #X� ôÜÏ% ∩∉∪ ⟨

“Bring me blocks of iron. At length, when he had filled up the space between

the two steep mountain-sides, he said, Blow (with your bellows). Then, when

he had made it (red) as fire, he said : Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten

copper.”



187

Verse 97

$ yϑsù (#ûθãè≈sÜó™$# βr& çνρ ã�yγ øàtƒ $ tΒuρ (#θãè≈sÜtGó™$# …çµs9 $ Y6ø)tΡ ∩∠∪ ⟨

“Thus were they made powerless to (either) scale over it or to dig through it.”

Verse 98

tΑ$ s% #x‹≈ yδ ×πuΗ÷q u‘ ÏiΒ ’ Ïn1§‘ ( #sŒ Î*sù u!% y ß‰ôã uρ ’ Ïn1u‘ …ã&s#yè y_ u!%ª.yŠ ( tβ%x.uρ ß‰ôãuρ ’Ïn1u‘ $ y)xm ∩∇∪ ⟨

“He said: This is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord

comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true.”

Verse 99

$ uΖø.u� s?uρ öΝ åκ|Õ ÷èt/ 7‹Í× tΒ öθtƒ ßlθßϑtƒ ’ Îû <Ù ÷èt/ ( y‡Ï& çΡuρ ’ Îû Í‘θ÷Á9$#

öΝ ßγ≈uΖ÷è yϑ pg m� $ Yè ÷Ηsd ∩∪ ⟨

“On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another (i.e., the

world would descend into anarchy); the trumpet will be blown, and We shall

collect them all together (i.e., the world would witness such globalizat ion as

to become akin to a global village in which all of mankind would be

interconnected).”

Verse 100

$ sΨ ôÊu�tã uρ tΛ© yγ y_ 7‹Í× tΒ öθtƒ tÍ� Ï&≈s3ù= Ïj9 $ �Êö� tã ∩⊇⊃⊃∪ ⟨



188

“And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out.”

Verse 101

tÏ% ©!$# ôMtΡ% x. öΝ åκß]ã‹ôã r& ’ Îû >!$ sÜÏî tã “Í� ø.ÏŒ (#θçΡ% x.uρ Ÿω šχθãè‹ÏÜtFó¡o„ $�è øÿxœ ∩⊇⊃⊇∪ ⟨

“(Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from Remembrance of Me,

and who had been unable even to hear.”

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:83-101)

Pax Qarnain (i.e., Dhūl Qarnain’s world-order)

Dhūl Qarnain in Arabic refers to someone who possesses two

Qarns. This can mean either two ‘horns’ or two ‘ages’. But since the

Qur’ān has always used the word Qarn to refer to an age or epoch (or

page of the book of history) and never as ‘horn’, we choose to

translate Dhūl Qarnain as one who impacts on two different pages of

the book of history. And since we locate the true target of the question

posed by the Jewish Rabbis in that major Sign of the Last Day,

namely, Gog and Magog, we are of the view that Qarnain, i.e., the

two ages, refer both to an age in the distant past and to an age which is

to come which would be the Last Age or the Age of Fitan. We hold

the view that we now live in that Last Age, and hence, that this story

has direct relevance to living Muslims.

Who was Dhūl Qarnain? This writer has not found any

compelling necessity to devote attention to the question whether Dhul



189

Qarnain was a historical personality or not. Rather we believe that

attention should be directed to the conduct displayed by Dhūl Qarnain

in his exercise of power and authority, for therein lies the very

substance of the divine guidance being conveyed in the story

Sūrah al-Kahf has introduced us in this story to the subject of

power and its relation to faith in Allah Most High. Dhul Qarnain

possessed faith in Allah and he was endowed by Allah with the power

to pursue whatever objective he chose. He therefore had the capacity

to establish what may be described in international relations as Pax

Qarnain (i.e., Dhul Qarnain’s world-order). At the heart of this

allegorical story is a description of a world-order constructed once

upon a time by one who possessed faith in Allah Most High (i.e., Pax

Islamica). We are presented with a critically important description of

that world-order.

The story then proceeds to warn of the emergence of a Gog and

Magog world-order that would witness power being used in exactly

the opposite way from that of Dhūl Qarnain. Finally the promise was

delivered in the previously discussed story of the young men and the

cave that history would not end without that page of history being

revisited and a world-order being restored in which power would be

used as it was used by Dhūl Qarnain. This would transpire when the

true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary, returns to the world to restore

Truth and the re-establishment of Pax Islamica.

Pax Qarnain – and the journey to the West

Dhūl Qarnain traveled westwards until he reached a point in his

travels where he came upon a body of dark murky water and saw the



190

sun go down beneath that sea of water (in the poetic sense). The

implication was that this was the farthest point westwards that he

could travel.

He came across a community of people at that place and Allah

Most High gave him the choice of using power either to punish or to

reward them. Dhūl Qarnain’s reply delivered the heart and substance

of a Pax Islamica or a world-order of Islam. He declared that he

would use his power and authority to punish the oppressor, and that

when he was finished with punishing him, the oppressor would then

face additional punishment from his Lord-God when he returned to

Him.

This is the kind of world-order that the Lord-God wants mankind

to establish and sustain. Such a world-order, established by those who

possess faith in Allah Most High, would witness an essential harmony

between the heavenly order above and the world-order below. The

implication is that whenever oppression is banished and justice is

established, mankind would enjoy a blessed state in which peace and

happiness would prevail.

Pax Qarnain – and the journey to the East

After describing the journey to the West, Sūrah al-Kahf then

proceeded to describe Dhūl Qarnain’s journey to the East, or to the

‘rising of the sun’. There he found a people concerning whom Allah

Most High declared, “We did not provide for them, as a covering,

other than it.” The story described Dhūl Qarnain’s response to those

people in language that is extremely difficult to interpret.

“Kadhālika” was the first part of the response. And this could mean



191

thus did he find them and thus did he leave them (undisturbed). The

second part of the response described Dhūl Qarnain as having fully

grasped and understood the situation of these people.

What was that ‘covering’ provided to the people by Allah Most High,

other than which they had no other ‘covering’? And how do we

interpret Dhūl Qarnain’s enigmatic response to their situation?

Our view, which we venture to explain with the proviso that Allah

Knows best, is that Sūrah al-Kahf is here preparing the believers for

the age of Fitan when the modern world’s hunger for exploitation of

all resources of the earth and, in particular, oil, result in callous

disregard for human rights. Primitive people, whose only possessions

are land and homes, but whose territory is oil-rich (for example),

would find themselves dispossessed of both land and homes.

Dhūl Qarnain recognised the human person and human rights to be

superior to resources, and so he left those people undisturbed in their

possession of their land and homes. When the Last Age comes, and

the masses are reduced through Riba to biting poverty, believers must

ensure that they respect the human person and human rights while

they seek to exploit (for example) resources of the earth.

Pax Qarnain – and the enigmatic third journey

After describing the two journeys to West and East, and thus

answering the question overtly posed by the Jewish Rabbis, the Qur’ān

then proceeded to describe a third journey which was the real target of

the question, although it had not been overtly posed by the Rabbis.



192

It was while describing the third journey that Sūrah al-Kahf

mentions for the first time the names of Gog and Magog. Their release

into the world would herald a major sign of the Last Day. It should be

clear that knowledge of the signs of the Last Day is a subject that lies

beyond the reach of human intellect. Indeed such knowledge cannot

but be the exclusive preserve of the Prophets of Allah Most High.

The Sūrah informs us that Dhūl Qarnain, in his third journey,

came upon a people living in a pass between two mountain ranges.

They complained to him about Gog and Magog’s Fasad in their

territory. They requested him to build a wall that would contain Gog

and Magog and protect them. They were prepared to pay Dhul

Qarnain to build the wall for them.

Gog and Magog are two communities of human beings who,

according to Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), are

descended from Noah (‘alaihi al-Salām). As mentioned above, they are

agents of Fasād. But the blessed Prophet went on to disclose a

communication from Allah Most High reported in His direct speech

(Hadīth al-Qudsi) to the effect that, “I have created creatures of Mine

(i.e., Gog and Magog) so powerful that none but I can destroy them.”

With their invincible power they can thus destroy peace on earth.

Hence their conduct is the opposite to that of Dhūl Qarnain’s.

Dhūl Qarnain built a wall of iron and coated it with molten

copper. The wall blocked the entire pass, and as a consequence, Gog

and Magog were contained since they could neither penetrate nor

scale the wall. He then declared the construction of the wall and the

consequent containment of Gog and Magog to be a manifestation of



193

Divine Mercy. But he went on to disclose that Allah Himself would

destroy the wall and release Gog and Magog into the world at the time

of the Last Age.

The Sūrah concluded with a description of what the world would

witness when Gog and Magog are released into the world:

* $ uΖø.u� s?uρ öΝ åκ|Õ ÷èt/ 7‹Í× tΒ öθtƒ ßlθßϑ tƒ ’ Îû <Ù ÷èt/ ( y‡Ï&çΡuρ ’ Îû Í‘θ÷Á9$#

öΝ ßγ≈uΖ÷è yϑ pg m� $ Yè ÷Ηsd ∩∪ $ sΨ ôÊu�tã uρ tΛ© yγ y_ 7‹Í×tΒ öθtƒ t Í�Ï&≈s3ù= Ïj9 $ �Êö� tã

∩⊇⊃⊃∪ tÏ% ©!$# ôM tΡ%x. öΝ åκß]ã‹ ôãr& ’ Îû >!$sÜÏî tã “Í� ø.ÏŒ (#θçΡ% x.uρ Ÿω šχθãè‹ÏÜtFó¡o„ $�è øÿxœ ∩⊇⊃⊇∪ ⟨

“On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another; the

trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together. And We shall

present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out, (Unbelievers)

whose eyes had been under a veil from Remembrance of Me, and who had

been unable even to hear.”

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:99-101)

When Gog and Magog are eventually released into the world (in

the Last Age) mankind would witness the emergence of a world-order

that would be the opposite of what Islam would have delivered to

mankind. Mankind would witness power in the hands of those who

have no faith in Allah Most High. Instead of using power to liberate

the oppressed and to punish the oppressor, that essentially godless age

would witness power used to oppress (in particular) those who have

faith in Allah Most High and whose conduct is righteous.



194

We have argued in our book entitled ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’ān’

(see Ch. 10) that Allah Most High released Gog and Magog into the

world during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ’alahi wa

sallam).

The Qur’ān provided believers with a momentous sign by which

they would not only have concrete evidence of the release of Gog and

Magog, but more than that, they would have the evidence that the

world was now in the control of Gog and Magog. They would thus be

able to identify Gog and Magog as the Ruling Power in the world.

This is located in the reference to Gog and Magog in Sūrah al-

Anbiyāh:

îΠ u� xmuρ 4’ n?tã >πtƒö� s% !$yγ≈sΨ õ3n= ÷δr& öΝßγ ‾Ρr& Ÿω šχθãèÅ_ö� tƒ ∩∈∪ # ®L xm #sŒÎ)

ôM ysÏGèù ßlθã_ù' tƒ ßlθã_ù'tΒ uρ Ν èδuρ ÏiΒ Èe≅à2 5>y‰tn šχθè=Å¡Ψ tƒ

∩∉∪ ⟨

“But there is a ban on a City which We have destroyed: that they (the

residents) shall not return - until Gog and Magog are let through (their

barrier) and they swift ly spread out in every direction.”

(Qur’ān, al-Anbiyāh, 21:95-6)

When Gog and Magog have been released and, in addition, “have

spread out in every direction”, then at that time the people of the

Town who were punished by Allah Most High, and banished from

their town or city (which was destroyed by Allah Most High), would

be brought back to that town or city. There is only one such town or



195

city (which was destroyed by Allah Most High) which is mentioned in

the Ahādith pertaining to Gog and Magog. And it is Jerusalem.

Since no other town or city (destroyed by Allah Most High)

other than Jerusalem is mentioned in the Ahādith pertaining to Gog

and Magog, we have come to the conclusion that the town or city

mentioned in Sūrah al-Anbiyāh (verses 95 and 96) above can only be

Jerusalem.

From this conclusion and identification of the town or city now

emerges the implication that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land

was made possible through the intervention of Gog and Magog. In

other words, the Euro-world-order that now rules the world from

Washington is the world-order of Gog and Magog. .

The Qur’ān proceeded to warn that when these events take place,

the world would witness the countdown to the Last Day:

z>u�yIø%$#uρ ß‰ôã uθø9$# ‘,ysø9$# #sŒÎ* sù }‘ Ïδ îπ|Á Ï‚≈x© ã�≈|Á ö/r& t Ï%©! $# (#ρ ã�x& x.

$ uΖn= ÷ƒuθ≈ tƒ ô‰s% $ ¨Ζà2 ’ Îû 7's#ø& xî ôÏiΒ #x‹≈ yδ ö≅t/ $ ¨Ζà2 šÏϑ Ï=≈sß ∩∠∪

⟨

“Then will the true warning (of the Day of Accounts) draw close (to

fulfillment): then behold! (on that day) the eyes of the Unbelievers will stare

in horror: Ah! Woe to us! we were indeed heedless of this; nay, we truly did

wrong!”

(Qur’ān, al-Anbiyah, 21:98)

When Gog and Magog are released they would ‘spread out in

every direction’. This indicates that with their invincible power they



196

will take control of the whole world and that, for the first time in

history, one set of people would rule all of mankind. That is precisely

our present world.

The world order of Gog and Magog would be one of Fasād

(i.e., oppression and wickedness). Sūrah al-Kahf has described the two

defining characteristics of the Fasād of that world order as being the

opposite of the two defining characteristics of the world order of Dhūl

Qarnain.



197

CHAPTER NINE

SŪRAH AL-KAHF: THE BEGINNING

The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) advised the

believers to recite the first ten Ayāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Kahf and

declared that such would protect them from the Fitnah (i.e., tests and

trials) of Dajjāl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ:

“Abu Darda reported that Allah’s Messenger said: If anyone memorizes the

first ten Ayāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Kahf, he would be protected from Dajjāl.”

(Sahīh Muslim)

“He who among you survives to see him (i.e., Dajjāl) should recite over him

the opening verses of Sūrah al-Kahf.”

(Sahīh Muslim)

We now examine those first ten Ayāt (verses) to locate the

substance of the message that they convey concerning Dajjāl and the

danger that he poses to the believers. The first thing that we notice

about the ten Ayāt (verses) of the Sūrah is that, assuming that the

Basmallah is not counted as the first verse, they end with a Du’ah or

prayer. Here is the story which explains that Du’ah.

There were some young men who, despite being young, had faith

in Allah Most High. They lived in an age that was waging war on

Islam and was forcing believers to submit to a godless way of life.

They resisted until they were forced to flee from their homes and town

in order to preserve their faith in Islam. They fled into a cave (and



198

caves are usually located in mountains) and they then made a Du’ah

(prayer) to Allah Most High for help, protection and guidance. It is

with that Du’ah (prayer) that the first ten Āyāt (verses) end:

øŒ Î) “uρ r& èπu‹ ÷FÏ&ø9$# ’ n< Î) É#ôγs3ø9$# (#θä9$ s)sù !$ uΖ−/u‘ $ uΖÏ?#u ÏΒ y7Ρà$©! ZπuΗ ÷qu‘

ø⋅ Äh÷yδuρ $ sΨ s9 ô ÏΒ $ tΡÍ� øΒ r& #Y‰x©u‘ ∩⊇⊃∪ ⟨

“Behold the youths betook themselves to the Cave and they prayed: Our

Lord! Bestow on us Mercy from Thyself and dispose of our affair for us in

the right way!”


This Du’ah (prayer) must be recognized as the very key with

which a Muslim can win Divine protection from Dajjāl at moments of

danger and great trial. For example, if a Muslim is traveling by air

and he arrives at an airport and approaches an unfriendly immigration

officer who is hostile to Islam and is preparing to harass him, it is this

Duah (prayer) in particular which should be recited on such an

occasion. If one has the time to do so one can then follow this up by

reciting all ten Ayāt at the beginning of Sūrah al-Kahf.

Here are the first ten Ayāt (verses) of the Sūrah together with our

comments in which we attempt to locate their link with Dajjāl the

false Messiah or Anti-Christ (if the reader is of the view that the first

verse of the Sūrah is the Basmallah then, of course, the following

would be the second verse):

1st Verse



199

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“Praise is due to Allah Who sent down the Book (i.e., the Qur’ān) on His

Servant (i.e., Prophet Muhammad) and did not allow (and also will not

allow) therein any ‘Iwaj (crookedness, tortuousness, deviation from the path

of truth, distortion, deviousness, internal or external contradictions, etc.).”

The verse begins with drama as Allah Most High praises Himself

for having sent down the Qur’ān on His Servant Muhammad (sallalahu

'alaihi wa sallam). But Muhammad the Arab (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam,) was

not a Jew, and, as a consequence, this Divine act placed the Jews in a

frustrating dilemma. The Qur’ān has accused the Jews of having

corrupted the text of the Torah through rewriting it with their own

hands:

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“But they, who acted wickedly, changed the (Divine) word from that which

had been given them (i.e., the Torah); so We sent on those who acted so

wickedly a p lague from heaven, (and this we did) because of their intractable

sinfulness.”


Those who corrupted the text of the Torah (‘Iwaj) had, in the

process, made it impossible for a believer in the tainted Torah to

accept a Prophet who was not a Jew. After all, they believed that the



200

Israelite people were the chosen people of Allah. They were the

spiritual elect of mankind whose destiny it was to eventually rule the

world at the end of history. Non-Jews had a spiritual status, when

compared with Jews, that was manifestly inferior, and so it was

impossible for Jews to conceive of Divine revelation coming down on

a gentile, or for a gentile to be chosen as a Prophet of Allah. In

particular the Torah had made it impossible for an Arab to be accepted

as a Prophet since Arabs were descended from Ishmael (‘alaihi al-Salām)

and the Torah had been rewritten to explicitly declare that Allah’s

covenant was with Isaac (‘alaihi al-Salām) and not Ishmael (‘alaihi al-

Salām). In addition it had slandered Ishmael (‘alaihi al-Salām) as “a wild

ass of a man – his hand against everyman, and every man’s hand

against him” (Genesis, 16:12).

Yet it was frustratingly clear to the Jewish Rabbis in the Arabian

city of Yathrib (now known as Madina) that Muhammad, the Arab,

was indeed a true Prophet of Allah. Jews were enraged that Allah

Most High chose an Arab to be the recipient of the last revelation

since, in recognizing him as a true Prophet, it forced them to accept

that they had distorted the Torah. Secondly, their assumption of racial

superiority over the Arabs would no longer have any scriptural

support.

The Qur’ān recognized this frustration of the Jews and

responded to it:



201

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“Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls in that they deny

(the revelation) which Allah has sent down. (They have done so) in insolent

envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases

(i.e., Muhammad the Arab); thus have they drawn on themselves wrath upon

wrath. And humiliat ing is the punishment of those who reject Faith.”


And so, right from the very beginning there is a clear indication

that the Sūrah is addressing the Jewish rejecters of Muhammad

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and the Qur’ān. And we must recognize that

these very people are Dajjāl’s primary target.

This verse directs attention to all the corruption that occurred in

the sacred scriptures which were sent down prior to the Qur’ān, in

particular the Torah. And so a major clue in understanding Dajjāl, and

in understanding the attacks which he would launch against his

targets, is located in the concocted texts and in particular the Torah.

Secondly, since the Qur’ān is free from crookedness, and will forever

remain so, the Qur’ān can best expose the distortions with which

previous scriptures (the Torah in particular) have been corrupted. It is

therefore a matter of paramount importance that the Qur’ān be used to

locate all that is corrupted in previous scriptures. This requires that we

make an indepth study, not only of the Qur’ān, but also of the previous

now-corrupted scriptures such as the Torah.



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Unless we study the Torah and discover the changes made to it

by human hands, we would never be able to understand and explain

the emergence of an age of the universal prevalence of ‘Riba’,

alcoholism, and drug addiction. We would be unable to understand the

link between alcoholism and the ‘End of History’. Nor would we be

able to understand the emergence of the Riba economy with its ‘paper

money’ (soon to become invisible and intangible electronic money)

and a usurious ‘banking system’ that has taken control of economic

life everywhere.

“The Prophet said: The knots of Islam would be undone one by one until

every one of them is undone, and the first one to be undone would be the

rules in the Book of A llah and the last one would be Salāt (prayer).”

(Musnad Ahmad)

One of the signs of the approach of the Last Day (when the world

would come to an end), as predicted by the Prophet Muhammad

(sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam), is that the ruling of the Book of Allah

banning consumption of alcohol would be ignored and there will be

universal consumption of alcohol and other intoxicants:

“Anas told that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: Among the Signs of the

Last Hour will be the removal of knowledge, the abundance of ignorance, the

prevalence of fornication, the prevalence of wine-drinking, the small number

of men and the large number of women, so that fifty women will have one

man to look after them.”

(Bukhāri, Muslim)

It is quite clear to those who pursue the Islamic spiritual quest

(al-Ihsān or Tasawwuf) that we now live in that age described by the

Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) as the Last Age. One in every six



203

homes in America, for example, is now affected by alcoholism, and

the number is constantly growing. The rest of mankind seems destined

to embrace, tomorrow, whatever America has embraced today, and

that, also, is a Sign from Allah. But most people are heedless of the

Signs of Allah:

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“. . . . but verily most people are heedless of Our Signs!” (Qur’ān, Yūnus, 10:92)

The reason for this curse of alcoholism is the rewriting of the

divine scriptures sent by Allah Most High. This was done in order to

delete the divine prohibition against the consumption of intoxicants as

well as usury (Ribā). Whoever did the rewriting of the Torah was so

evil that he falsely accused a righteous Prophet of becoming drunk. In

that state of intoxication he slept with and impregnated his own two

daughters one after the other! That was blatant falsehood! It was a

very grave insult to Lot (‘alaihi al-Salām), a Prophet of Allah, and it

blasphemy against Allah Most High (See book of Genesis in the

Torah).

Allah responded to that wickedness by cleansing Lot (‘alaihi al-

Salām) of the filth that had been smeared on him:

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204

“And remember Lot, We gave him (sound) judgment and knowledge, and We

saved him from the town which practiced an abominable ev il

(homosexuality). And We admitted him to Our mercy; for he was one of the

righteous.”

(Qur’ān, al-Anbiyāh, 21:74-5)

When they corrupted the Word of Allah Most High they planted

an evil seed. Allah responded with Divine punishment by creating

Dajjāl and then releasing him into the world. Dajjāl masterminds the

strategy which results in that evil seed growing, in the Last Age, into a

great evil tree which none can cut down. Dajjāl leads mankind with

consummate cunning and skill to a universal dependence on alcohol

and other such drugs. Malcolm X might have declared that alcoholism

and drug addiction in the secularized western life to be a case of

chickens coming home to roost.

We have demonstrated elsewhere that what is true for alcohol is

also true for Riba. Allah had prohibited the consumption of Riba

(lending money on interest). They changed the word of Allah by

rewriting the Torah to declare that it was prohibited for a believer (i.e.,

an Israelite) to lend on interest to another believer, but it was

permissible for him to lend on interest to gentile folk (i.e., not

Israelites):

“Do not charge interest (Riba) to the fellow-Israelite when you lend him

money or grain or anything else. You may charge interest (Riba) when you

make loans to foreigners (i.e., gentiles). To your brother you shall lend

without interest (Riba) all that he needs, so that the Lord, your God, may

bless you . . .”

(Deuteronomy, 23:19-20)



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The act of changing the Word of Allah Most High was a

scriptural crime. It was an act of Shirk , and an example of the

‘crookedness’ to which Sūrah al-Kahf referred at the very beginning

of the Sūrah. The blessed Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) warned of

the consequences of that crime when he prophesied that a time would

come when Riba would embrace all of mankind in its deadly embrace:

“Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said: A t ime will come

over mankind when not a single person will remain who does not consume

riba, and if one does not consume it, its vapor (or, alternatively, its dust) will

reach him.”

(Ahmad, Abū Daūd, Nasāi, Ibn Mājah)

We can now conclude with the observation that the very first

verse of Sūrah al-Kahf has delivered to the believers a crucially

important warning. The crux of Dajjāl’s attacks on mankind would be

located in the verses of the divinely revealed scriptures (e.g., the

Torah) that were changed and corrupted. Believers must therefore

recognize and study those changes in order to both recognize Dajjāl’s

attacks, and to respond to them appropriately.

2nd Verse

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“(He hath made it) unerringly straight (and clear) in order that He may warn

(those who refuse to be instructed and guided by the Qur’ān and its eternally

authentic and uncorrupted guidance) of truly terrible punishment from Him

(with which they will now be inflicted), and that He may g ive glad tidings to



206

the believers who are righteous in their conduct that they shall have excellent

reward.”

There are very significant and ominous implications for mankind

which emerge from the fact that Allah Most Wise has declared that the

Qur’ān is not only free from all corruption and contradiction (internal

as well as external) but that He would Himself preserve the Qur’ān

(from all corruption). Wicked people corrupted previous scriptures,

but they cannot do the same to the Qur’ān:

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“Behold! It is We who have gradually sent down this Message step by step;

and Behold! It is We who will certainly guard and protect it (from all

corruption).”

(Qur’ān, al-Hijr, 15:9)

In other words, the Qur’ān will function as proof either for or

against the servants of Allah who believe or disbelieve in it.

Secondly, since Allah now warns of terrible punishment and does not

specify who would be punished, how or why, the implication is that it

is the Qur’ān that would explain all of the above. But the verse also

conveys the message of hope and reward for those who have faith

(most of all in the Qur’ān) and whose conduct is righteous. Hence

faith in the Qur’ān and righteous conduct (following the Sunnah of

Prophet Muhammad) are the best response to the Fitnah (trials) of

Dajjāl.

A further implication of this verse is that only those believers

who follow the guidance of the Qur’ān would have a chance of



207

surviving the attacks of Dajjāl. Hence the leadership of the believers

in this age must be chosen from those righteous servants of Allah

Most High, who are themselves blessed with the most knowledge of

the Qur’ān. But, in particular, such leaders must be capable of

understanding and enforcing specific Qur’anic guidance applicable to

the modern age.

3rd Verse

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“ ….. (a state of bliss) wherein they shall dwell beyond the count of time:”

The reward that awaits those who, in consequence of their faith

and righteous conduct, survive the evil storm of Dajjāl, is that they

will receive an ever-lasting reward, namely heaven. But the life of

faith and of righteous conduct will come increasingly under attack as

Dajjāl wages war on religion in general and on Islam in particular. It

would be a very difficult life to live. Here are Ahadīth which describe

that difficult state:

Narrated Abū Tha’labah al-Khushāni: Abu Umayyah ash-Sha’bani said: I

asked Abū Tha’labah al-Khushāni: “What is your opinion about the verse

Care for yourselves?” He said: “I swear by Allah, I asked the one who was

well informed about it; I asked the Apostle of Allah about it”. He said : “No,

enjoin one another to do what is good and forbid one another to do what is

evil. But when you see niggardliness being obeyed, passion being followed,

world ly interests being preferred, everyone being charmed with his opinion,

then care for yourself, and leave alone what people in general are doing; for

ahead of you are days which will require endurance, in which showing

endurance will be like grasping live coals. The one who acts rightly during



208

that period will have the reward of fifty men who act as he does.” Another

version has: He said: The hearers asked, “O Apostle of Allah, the reward of

fifty of them?” He replied: “The reward of fifty of you.”

(Tirmīdhī, Ibn Mājah, Abū Daūd)

Narrated Anas ibn Malik: Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “A time

is coming to men when he who adheres to his religion will be like one who

seizes live coals.”

(Tirmīdhī)

The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) described Dajjāl’s

attacks as the greatest Fitnah (i.e., tests and trials) that mankind would

experience from the time of Ādam (‘alaihi al-Salām) to the Last Day.

Narrated Abū Qatādah: We used to go to ‘Imrān b. Husain passing in front of

Hishām b. Amir. He, one day, said: “You pass by me (in order) to go to some

persons, but (amongst the living persons) none remained in the company of

Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) more than I and none knows more ahadith

than I. I heard Allah’s Apostle (peace be upon him) said: There would be no

creation (creating more trouble) than the Dajjāl right from the creation of

Adam to the Last Hour.”

(Sahih Muslim)

Divine justice has therefore ordained that the greatest rewards

would be given to those who demonstrate the most endurance in

holding on to faith in the face of the greatest trial of all.

4th and 5th Verses



209

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“Furthermore (this Qur’ān has come) to warn those (also) who say ‘Allah has

fathered a son’. Neither they nor their ancestors have any knowledge of such

(i.e., that Allah fathered a son). It is a monstrously (evil) word which they

utter. What they say is nothing but falsehood!”

The famous modern commentator of the Qur’ān, Muhammad Asad

(may Allah Most High have mercy on his soul), has commented on this verse

as follows:

“Most of the classical commentators and, as far as I am aware, all the earliest

translators of the Qur’ān relate the pronoun in Bihi to the assertion that 'God

has taken unto himself a son', and hence take the phrase to mean, 'They have

no knowledge of it', i.e, no knowledge of such a happening. However, this

interpretation is weak in as much as absence of knowledge does not

necessary imply an objective negation of the fact to which it relates. It is,

therefore, obvious that bihi cannot signify ‘of it’; it signifies ‘of Him’ and

relates to God. Hence the phrase must be rendered as above – meaning that

they who make such a preposterous claim have no real knowledge of Him,

since they attribute to the Supreme Being something that is attributable only

to created, imperfect beings. This interpretation is supported, in an

unequivocal manner, by Tabari and, as an alternative, by Baidāwi.” (Asad,

Translation and Commentary of the Glorious Qur’ān).

Of all the ‘Iwaj (i.e., crookedness) with which previous scriptures

were corrupted, one which is singled out for special mention is the

declaration that Allah Most High fathered a son. The Qur’ān makes



210

mention of a Jewish belief that Uzair is the son of God, and a similar

Christian belief which recognized the Messiah, Jesus, as the son of

God:

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“The Jews declare that Ezra ('Uzair) is a son of Allah, and the Christians

declare that the Messiah (i.e., Jesus) is the son of Allah. Such are the sayings

that they utter with their mouths, following in spirit assertions made in earlier

times by people who denied the truth. (They deserve the imprecation) May

Allah destroy them! How perverted are their minds!”

(Qur’ān, al-Taubah, 9:30)

Such a declaration amounts to blasphemy (Shirk). It is a grave

sin. Indeed it is the only sin Allah Most High has declared that He

would not forgive (i.e., if one dies without earning forgiveness for

such a sin prior to his death). This reference at the beginning of Sūrah

al-Kahf to Shirk is of great significance in understanding the danger

posed by Dajjāl since the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) warned that

his Ummah would be tested with blasphemy (Shirk) and that it would

be difficult to recognise that Shirk , “ . . . as difficult”, said the Prophet,

“as it would be to recognize a black ant on a rock on a dark night.” (Narrated

by Aisha, and recorded in the Mustadraq of Hakim)

Dajjāl's greatest weapon would be his capacity to deceive. He

would thus so conceal his blasphemy (Shirk) that it would be very



211

difficult for anyone to recognize it. Already Dajjāl’s blasphemy

(Shirk) has raised its ugly head all around the world, and all of

mankind, save those servants of Allah Most High who are rightly

guided, have been trapped by that blasphemy (Shirk). They

blaspheme, for example, when they vote in elections in a state whose

(secular) constitution declares (as does the constitution of my own

native Trinidad and Tobago): “This Constitution is the supreme law of

such-and-such-a State, and any other law (including Almighty God’s Law)

which is inconsistent with this Constitution, is void to the extent of its

inconsistency.”

The further amazing implication that emerges from “telling lies

against Allah”, such as the lie about Him having a son, is that Dajjal

would trap unsuspecting humanity with great lies that he would

weave. His acolytes would spin such lies are “weapons of mass

destruction in Iraq”, “an Iran ian nuclear threat” and that “Arabs and

Muslims were responsible for the 9/11 attack on America” and on the

subsequent attack on London. The Qur’an proclaims: “They seek to

deceive Allah and the believers, but they deceive none but themselves and

they fail to perceive this” (Qur’an, al-Baqarah, 2:9). Eventually they are

condemned to believe their own lies. Muslims who live in this age

must, therefore, heed the words of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu

‘alaihi wa sallam) who warned: “In the Last Age there would be great

liers, so beware.” The greatest of lies would be skillfully woven in the

relentlessly pursuit of the mission to make the imposter Euro-Jewish

State of Israel the ruling state in the world.

6th Verse



212

y7 ‾= yèn= sù ÓìÏ‚≈ t/ y7|¡ø& ‾Ρ #’ n?tã öΝ ÏδÍ�≈rO#u βÎ) óΟ©9 (#θãΖÏΒ ÷σãƒ #x‹≈ yγÎ/

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not willing to believe in this Message (i.e., this Qur’ān)?”

“This rhetorical question is addressed, in the first instance, to the Prophet,

who was deeply distressed by the hostility which his message aroused among

the pagan Meccans, and suffered agonies of apprehension regarding their

spiritual fate. Beyond that, however, it applies to everyone who, having

become convinced of the truth of an ethical proposition, is dismayed at the

indifference with which h is social environment reacts to it” (Asad,

Translation and Commentary of the Glorious Qur’ān).

Mankind is comprised of three kinds of people. Firstly, there are

those who received the Truth and accepted it. They then acted upon it.

They are believers and they are assured of the reward of heaven.

Secondly, there are those who received the Truth and rejected it. They

then reached a stage in their act of rejection when Allah sealed their

hearts to the Truth. No amount of preaching would ever succeed in

winning such people to the Truth. They are the disbelievers (Kuffār).

Heaven is Harām (prohibited) for them. And finally, there are those

who have either not received the Truth, or have received it and have

neither accepted nor rejected it, or have accepted it but not acted upon

it, etc. It is the divine prerogative to either punish or to forgive such

people.

In this Āyah (verse) Allah Most High reminds the blessed Prophet

(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that there are those whose hearts are sealed

and that no amount of preaching will ever bring them to the Truth.



213

The reminder is also meant for the believers who, in the age of Dajjāl,

would witness the ever-increasing number of people destined for the

hell-fire. No amount of preaching would ever change their hostility to

Islam. Sūrah al-Kahf is here advising the believers, by way of a

question posed to the blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), to

direct their attention away from the world that persists in rejection of

Islam. They should focus instead on preservation of their own faith.

Here are the very beautiful words of Divine guidance in this

connection:

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$ WÛã� èù ∩⊄∇∪ ⟨ “Let your soul (i.e., heart) be content in being attached to (and keeping the

company of) those who reach out (in sincere prayer) to their Lord-God in the

morn ings as well as in the evenings, seeking His very Face, and let not your

eyes be diverted away from them, attracted to the pomp and glitter of this

(worldly) Life; and do not obey (i.e., do not submit to the leadership and

authority of) any whose heart We have caused to neglect the remembrance of

Us, one who follows his own desires, whose case has gone beyond all bounds

.”


The numbers of those who reject Islam would constantly increase

in the Last Age, and such people would willingly join in the war on

Islam, or would be seduced into doing so. Muslims should recognize



214

the dangers of living in the midst of such a hostile environment. They

should pay more attention to preserving their personal security

(including, of course, their wives and children) and their faith than on

holding on to high-paying job in the devil’s woodyard. They can do

this best by following the example of Dhūl Qarnain in building a wall

that would protect them from the Gog and Magog world-order. That

(invisible) wall can best be built around Muslim Villages located in

the remote countryside.

7th Verse

$ ‾ΡÎ) $ sΨù= yè y_ $ tΒ ’n?tã ÇÚö‘ F{$# ZπsΨƒÎ— $oλ°; óΟèδuθè= ö7sΨ Ï9 öΝåκš‰ r& ß |¡ômr& Wξyϑ tã

∩∠∪ ⟨

“We have made that which is on earth to be glamourous and an adornment in

order that We might test them (i.e., mankind) to see which of them is best in

conduct.”

Asad comments: “Lit., We have made that which is on earth as its

adornment in order that we might put them [i.e., all human beings] to a test”,

mean ing that God lets them reveal their real characters in their respective

attitudes – moral or immoral – towards the material goods and benefits which

the world offers them. In further analysis, this passage implies that the real

motive underly ing men’s refusal to believe in God’s spiritual message is

almost always excessive, blind attachment to the good of this world,

combined with a false pride in what they regard as their own achievements.”

(Asad, Translation and Commentary of the Glorious Qur’ān).

Sūrah al-Kahf warns the believers in this Āyah (verse) that Dajjāl

would lay a trap urging them to covet the goods of this world. When



215

the heart becomes too attached to the goods of the world it is easy for

that heart to begin to lose the constant remembrance of Allah. In

order to survive the trials of Dajjāl the believers must live in the world

and yet pursue their worldly life with constant Dhikr (remembrance)

of Allah Most High. The God who we worship is that which is

supreme in the heart (regardless of the loud protests of the lips). The

heart of the believer in Allah Most High must be a heart in which

Allah Most High is supreme. If the Dunyah (the world) is supreme in

the heart then that person is, de facto, a worshipper of the Dunyah (the

world).

Not only does Dajjāl seek to corrupt the faith of the believers

through wealth, he also leads them eventually to believe that there is

no reality beyond material reality (materialism). That process

eventually culminates in de facto atheism. Those who control the

world today are increasingly embracing atheism. Indeed an increasing

number of British people are publicly confirming (de facto) their

atheist beliefs. This constitutes dramatic evidence of Dajjāl’s stunning

success.

8th Verse

$ ‾ΡÎ) uρ tβθè= Ïè≈yfs9 $ tΒ $ pκö�n= tæ #Y‰‹Ïè |¹ #�— ã� ã_ ∩∇∪ ⟨

“Verily We shall (eventually) reduce (the earth and) what is on it to dust and

dry soil (without growth or herbage).”

In the same way that every living thing was created from water,

so indeed would water be the cause of eventual destruction of all life.

Dajjāl’s deception would be such that mankind would be the



216

architects of their own destruction since the waste and over-

consumption of water would lead to water scarcity.

This subject of the importance of water and the role that water

will play in the Last Age is also intimately connected with Y’ajūj

(Gog) and M’ajūj (Magog) about which Sūrah al-Kahf has much to

say. The subject would be dealt with, Inshā Allah, in volume four of

this humble quartet of books on Sūrah al-Kahf (i.e., Gog and Magog

in the Qur’ān and Hadīth).

Eventually the earth would be reduced to a ‘dust bowl’. Sūrah

al-Kahf returns again and again to the subject of water. For example:

ó>Î�ôÑ$#uρ Μçλm; Ÿ≅sVΒ Ïο 4θuŠ ut ù: $# $ u‹ ÷Ρ‘‰9$# >!$ yϑ x. çµ≈sΨ ø9u“Ρr& z ÏΒ Ï!$ yϑ¡¡9$#

xÝn= tG÷z$$ sù ÏµÎ/ ßN$ t6tΡ ÇÚö‘ F{$# yxt7ô¹r' sù $ Vϑ‹Ï±yδ çνρâ‘ õ‹s? ßx≈ tƒÍh�9$# 3 tβ%x.uρ ª!$# 4’ n?tã Èe≅ä. &ó x« #�‘ Ï‰tGø) –Β ∩⊆∈∪ ãΑ$ yϑø9$# tβθãΖt6ø9$#uρ èπuΖƒÎ—

Ïο 4θuŠ ysø9$# $ u‹ ÷Ρ‘‰9$# ( àM≈uŠÉ)≈t7 ø9$#uρ àM≈ysÏ=≈¢Á9$# í�ö�yz y‰ΖÏã y7 În/u‘ $\/#uθrO

í�ö�yz uρ WξtΒ r& ∩⊆∉∪ ⟨

“Set forth to them the similitude of the life of th is world : it is like the water

which We send down from the skies: the earth’s vegetation absorbs it. But

eventually it becomes dry stubble, which the winds do scatter: it is (only)

Allah Who prevails over all things. Wealth and sons are allurements of the

life of this world; but the things that endure, good deeds, are best in the sight

of thy Lord, as rewards, and best as (the foundation for) hopes.”




217

Abdullah Yusuf Ali has commented quite beautifully on these

two Ayāt (verses) of Sūrah al-Kahf as follows:

“Rain water is a good thing in itself, but it does not last, and you can build no

solid foudation on it. It is soon absorbed in the earth, and produces the

flourishing appearance of grass and vegetation – for a time. Soon these

decay, and become as dry stubble, which the least wind from any quarter will

blow about like a thing of no importance. The water is gone, and so is the

vegetation to which it leant a brave show of luxuriance temporarily. Such is

the life of this world, contrasted with the inner and real Life,which looks to

the Hereafter. God is the only enduring Power, supreme over all.

Other things are fleet ing! But Good Deeds have a lasting value in the sight of

God. They are best as (or for) rewards in two ways!

1. They flow from us by the Grace of God, and are themselves rewards for our

Faith;

2. They become the foundation of our hopes for the highest spiritual rewards in

the Hereafter.”

(‘The Holy Qur’ān: Text , Translation and Commentary’, ‘Abdullah

Yūsuf ‘A li, Notes 2386 & 2387 of verses 45 & 46 o f Sūrah al-Kahf).

9th and 10th Verses

ôΘr& |M ö6Å¡xm ¨βr& |=≈ysô¹r& É#ôγs3ø9$# ÉΟŠ Ï%§�9$#uρ (#θçΡ% x. ô ÏΒ $uΖÏF≈ tƒ#u

$ �6pg xå ∩∪ øŒ Î) “uρr& èπu‹÷FÏ& ø9$# ’ n< Î) É#ôγs3ø9$# (#θä9$ s)sù !$ uΖ−/u‘ $ uΖÏ?#u ÏΒ

y7Ρà$©! ZπuΗ÷q u‘ ø⋅ Äh÷yδuρ $ sΨ s9 ôÏΒ $ tΡÍ�øΒ r& #Y‰x©u‘ ∩⊇⊃∪ ⟨

“(And since the life of this world is but a test) do you really think that the

(event of) the Companions of the Cave and of the sacred scriptures (which



218

they perhaps took with them into the cave) could be deemed more wondrous

than any (other) of Our messages?”

“Behold the youths betook themselves to the Cave: they said: “Our Lord!

bestow on us Mercy from Thyself and dispose of our affair for us in the right

way!”

Sūrah al-Kahf now turns to the story of the young men in the

cave concerning which we have devoted a separate chapter of this

book. The fact that the first two Āyāt (verses) of the passage that is

devoted to the story of the Cave are located within the first ten Ayāt

(verses) of the Sūrah (chapter) implies that this story is connected to

Dajjāl.

Even if the Basmallah were to be counted as the first verse of the

Surah, this story would still commence as the tenth verse of the Sūrah.

The story of the young men and the cave must therefore be

recognized to provide significant and strategically important guidance

to believers about appropriate conduct to deal with the trials of Dajjāl.



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CHAPTER TEN

SURAH AL-KAHF: THE END

The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) advised that

whoever is confronted by Dajjāl should recite over him the first ten

verses of Sūrah al-Kahf and that such would render him safe from the

Fitnah of Dajjāl. Since the beginning of the Sūrah has such strategic

importance it follows that we should examine the end of the Sūrah as

well, to discern any additional guidance they may contain pertaining

to the subject.

Here are the last verses of the Sūrah:

Verse 100

$ sΨôÊu�tã uρ tΛ ©yγ y_ 7‹Í×tΒ öθtƒ tÍ�Ï&≈s3 ù=Ïj9 $ �Êö�tã ∩⊇⊃⊃∪ ⟨ “And on that Day (i.e., witnessing the culmination of globalization, mankind

will experience unprecedented conflicts, wars, random killings, suicides,

etc,.) We shall p lace hell spread out before those who denied the truth.”

Dhūl Qarnain first built the wall that successfully contained Gog

and Magog, and had thus delivered the people from the Fasād (i.e.,

that which corrupts and destroys) that these tribes were inflicting upon

them. But he then went on to warned that Allah Most High would one

day bring down the wall and when that event took place the Last Age

would commence. Ten major Signs of the Last Age would then unfold



220

in the world, and among those ten signs was the release of Gog and

Magog.

We have already noted previously what kind of a world would

emerge when Gog and Magog are let loose, i.e., the very opposite of

Dhūl Qarnain’s world-order. When power rests on foundations that

are essentially godless, such power would be used to oppress mankind

and, in particular, those who have faith in Allah Most High and whose

conduct is righteous. Such a world-order would result in a state of

conflict, rather than harmony, with the heavenly order above. The

Qur’ān has described Allah’s creation as characterised by perfect

peace and harmony.

The Gog and Magog world-order, on the other hand, that would

emerge in the Last Age, would be characterized by chaos and anarchy

akin to “waves crashing against each other”. At that time the trumpet

would be blown (but only those in the heavens above would hear it).

When the trumpet is blown that would indicate the commencement of

Youm al-Qiyāmah or the Last Day and that would, in turn, be the sign

for the commencement of a divinely-ordained process which would

bring all of mankind together in one essentially godless global Gog

and Magog society. That global society would comprise of carbon-

copies of Gog and Magog who would all be destined for the hell-fire.

It is precisely that process of ominous change that mankind has chosen

to describe today as ‘globalization’! Sūrah al-Kahf has informed us

that the global society characterized by universal Kufr (disbelief)

would witness conflict, chaos and anarchy, and it would be like Hell

itself spread out before the world.

Gog and Magog would succeed in seducing 999 out of every

1000 on earth to their decadent lifestyle, but the true servants of Allah



221

Most High would resist them. Rather, they would follow the example

of the young men in the cave by choosing world-abandonment for the

purpose of preserving faith in Allah Most High.

Believers should eventually abandon the cities of the modern

world and relocate to the remote countryside so that they, their wives

and children do not have to see ‘hell’ spread out before the eyes of the

secular godless world:

āξx. öθs9 tβθßϑ n=÷è s? zΝù= Ïæ ÈÉ) u‹ ø9$# ∩∈∪ āχãρu�yI s9 zΟŠ Åspg ù: $# ∩∉∪ ⟨

“Nay, if you could only (access) knowledge that is born of certainty (i.e.,

internal intuitive spiritual insight), you would most surely behold Hell (which

at that time would be spread out before the disbelievers). . .”

(Qur’ān, al-Takāthur, 102:5-6)

Verse 101

tÏ% ©!$# ôM tΡ%x. öΝ åκ ß]ã‹ôã r& ’ Îû > !$ sÜ Ïî tã “Í�ø.ÏŒ (#θçΡ%x.uρ Ÿω šχθãè‹ÏÜ tF ó¡ o„ $ �è øÿxœ ∩⊇⊃⊇∪ ⟨

“Those (who would now constitute mainstream society, and would be living

the way of life of the people of hell-fire, would be a people) whose eyes had

been veiled from My remembrance and who were incapable of hearing (the

word of truth)!”

The verse connects to the subject of that hell-fire which “this day

We have spread out before the disbelievers”, and warns that hell-fire

awaits those who have eyes and yet cannot see - ears and yet cannot



222

hear - hearts and yet do not understand. The inescapable implication

of the above is that only the spiritually enlightened would be able to

recognise Dajjāl who would one day appear as a human being. And

only they would recognize Gog and Magog, who are Europeans who

originated from the Khazar tribe of Central Europe and who converted

to Judaism shortly after the time of Prophet Muhammad. Only they

would recognize that momentous divinely-programmed drama when

these evil beings pursue their mission to deceive the Israelite people

and bring them back to the Holy Land to reclaim it as their own.

It would thus be an epistemological attack that would render most

people incapable of ‘seeing’, ‘hearing’, and thus ‘understanding’ the

reality of Dajjāl’s attack that would take them on the road to the hell-

fire.

As explained elsewhere in this book, they would be deceived by

‘external appearances’ while remaining incapable of penetrating the

‘internal reality’ of things. The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam) warned about this epistemological attack when he declared that

Dajjāl sees with one eye, the left eye, and that he is blind in the right

eye. Our interpretation of this Hadīth is that Dajjāl is ‘internally’

blind, and that his attack on mankind would have as its objective to

render them, as well, ‘internally’ blind!

Believers should seek refuge with Allah Most High from this

great Fitnah of Dajjāl. They should pray:

“Allahumma arini al-Ashya’a kama hiya”

“Oh Allah Kindly show me things as they are (i.e., that I might not be

deceived by what they appear to be)!”



223

Verse 102

|= Å¡ ys sù r& tÏ% ©!$# (#ÿρã�x& x. βr& (#ρä‹ Ï‚ −G tƒ “ÏŠ$ t6 Ïã ∅ ÏΒ

þ’ ÏΤρßŠ u !$ u‹Ï9 ÷ρr& 4 !$ ‾ΡÎ) $tΡô‰ tG ôã r& tΛ© yγ y_ tÍ�Ï&≈s3 ù=Ï9 Zω â“çΡ ∩⊇⊃⊄∪ ⟨ “Do the disbelievers (who reject this last divinely revealed scripture, i.e ., the

Qur’ān, and this last Prophet of Allah Most High, i.e., Muhammad (peace be

upon him), believe perchance that they can succeed in poaching upon My

(faithful) servants (seducing them) into becoming their friends and allies

rather than remaining faithful to Me? Verily, We have readied hell to

welcome all those who (thus) disbelieve (and all those who befriend the

disbelievers in preference to Allah, His Messenger and the believers).”

If leaders cannot recognize that we now live in the age when

Dajjāl’s divinely-ordained mission of eventually ruling the world

from Jerusalem (and from an imposter State of Israel) is about to be

completed, how can they function as shepherds and guides for the

Ummah? Yet, with only few exceptions, these are precisely the kind

of people who assume leadership of Muslim communities and Muslim

countries around the world today. Some of them exhibit external

conformity with the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa

sallam) and sincere attachment to Islam, yet remain completely

unaware of the traps that Dajjāl has laid for them. They suffer the fate

of internal blindness because of their ignorance or obstinate rejection

of the fact that Allah Most High can bestow knowledge to the hearts

of His servants. Their internal blindness is also brought down upon

them as divine punishment for the foolish war that they wage against

the authentic spiritual luminaries of Islam (i.e., the authentic Sufi

Shuyūkh of Islam).



224

Some leaders of Muslim communities are in constant and

shameful collaboration with the enemies of Islam. They assume

leadership over Muslims either through public or secret assistance of

the enemies of Islam, or through the clever use of check books! The

Muslim world today suffers as flocks upon flocks of sheep are led by

shepherds who become clients of the wolves, who are protected by the

wolves, or whose salaries are paid by the wolves. This includes my

own Muslim community in Trinidad and Tobago.

A Euro-Christian/Euro-Jewish alliance was forged to become the

basic instrument for creating and sustaining the Gog and Magog

world-order that today controls the world. The Qur’ān has specifically

prohibited Muslims from becoming friends and allies of that alliance

and has warned that whoever embraces, or is embraced, by that

alliance would become a member of the family of Gog and Magog

and enter into the hell-fire. (See Qur’ān, al-Māidah, 5:51)

Sūrah al-Kahf ends with the confident declaration that Allah’s

servants who are true guides would resist the disbelievers and would

never join the essentially godless society. Nor would they ever be

friends and allies of the European Christian-Jewish alliance that now

rules the world. Rather than befriending the godless world, the true

servants of Allah Most High would struggle to remain faithful to Allah

Most High by disengaging from that world.

Verses 103 & 104



225

ö≅ è% ö≅ yδ Λ älã⁄Îm7t⊥çΡ tÎ� y£÷zF{ $$ Î/ ¸ξ≈uΗùå r& ∩⊇⊃⊂∪ ⟨

tÏ% ©!$# ¨≅ |Ê öΝ åκ ß�÷è y™ ’ Îû Ïο 4θuŠutù: $#

$ u‹÷Ρ‘‰9 $# öΝ èδ uρ tβθç7|¡ øts† öΝ åκ ®Ξ r& tβθãΖÅ¡ øtä† $�è ÷Ψß¹ ∩⊇⊃⊆∪ ⟨ “Say: Shall we inform you who are the greatest losers in whatever they may

do? (They are) those whose efforts have been wasted in the worldly life

(because they devoted all their efforts in the pursuit of worldly things without

the consciousness that all their labor and efforts were futile since they had

gone astray), while they thought that they were acquiring good by their works

(i.e ., they believed that their achievements were marvelous and that they were

making a success of their lives).”

The one-eyed modern western civilization and its ‘colored house-

slaves’ around the world a claim that is spurious and completely

invalid. They seek to convince mankind that since the world is

witnessing unprecedented technological progress, it thus gets better

and yet better, and this, consequently, is the best of all worlds. They

argue that modern western civilization which is responsible for

delivering this unprecedented ‘progress’ has rendered all previous

civilizations, including Islam, moribund and obsolete! Mankind

should therefore abandon all pre-modern ways of life and

wholeheartedly embrace and imitate the modern Euro-

Christian/Jewish way of life.

USA, UK, Canada, Europe, Australia, Singapore, etc, are

portrayed and marketed as heaven-on-earth and all the internally-blind

masses of mankind are so brainwashed that they live in dreams of

obtaining a passport to that ‘heaven-on-earth’. But the ‘heaven’ that

dazzles mainstream society around the world actually takes them into



226

the hell-fire. Yet one-eyed Muslim ‘house slaves’ criticize the

establishment of Muslim Villages that seek to disengage from the

modern wortld. These house-slaves would insist that Muslims must

remain a part of ‘mainstream society’, even when that mainstream is

heading for the garbage bin of history!

Verse 105

y7 Í×‾≈s9 'ρé& tÏ% ©!$# (#ρã�x& x. ÏM≈tƒ$ t↔Î/ öΝ Îγ În/ u‘ Ïµ Í←!$ s) Ï9 uρ ôM sÜ Î7utm�

öΝ ßγ è=≈uΗùå r& Ÿξ sù ãΛ É)çΡ öΝ çλ m; tΠ öθtƒ Ïπ yϑ≈uŠÉ) ø9 $# $ZΡø— uρ ∩⊇⊃∈∪ ⟨ “(They have gone astray in the sense that) they have chosen to reject the

messages of their Lord-God (of which this Qur’ān is the last and the most

important of all) (and these are they who either reject the claim of the Qur’ān

to be the revealed word of the One God, or who accept the Qur’ān but fail to

live by its guidance), or they have chosen to reject belief that they are

destined to meet Him (one day for judgment); for Hence, all their (life’s)

work will be worthless, and no weight shall We assign to them on

Resurrection Day (when each of mankind, VIPs and all) would be placed on

a scale to be weighed).”

Sūrah al-Kahf ends with a dire warning that Allah Most High

would respond to those who betray the Truth by refusing to give them

any weight on the Day of Judgement, when every human being would

be put on a scale to be weighed. Those who weigh heavy on the scale

would be rewarded with heaven, while those whose weight is light, or

who have no weight at all, would be punished with hell-fire.

Verse 106



227

y7 Ï9 sŒ ôΜèδ äτ !# u“y_ ãΛ ©yγ y_ $ yϑÎ/ (#ρã�x& x. (#ÿρä‹ sƒªB $# uρ ÉL≈tƒ#u

’ Ì? ß™ â‘ uρ #�ρâ“ èδ ∩⊇⊃∉∪ ⟨ “The hell-fire would be their (just) punishment for having denied the truth (in

this Qur’ān) and (for having) made fun of My messages and My apostles and

(for) targeting them for scornful t reatment and mockery.”

The Last Age would witness such war on Islam that righteous

believers will be mocked and persecuted. But the believers can take

comfort from the assurance that Allah Most High would deal with

their tormentors by punishing them in the hell-fire. Sūrah al-Kahf thus

ends, as it began, with a warning of terrible punishment from Allah

Most High.

Verse 107

¨βÎ) tÏ% ©!$# (#θãΖtΒ# u (#θè=ÏΗxå uρ ÏM≈ys Ï=≈ ¢Á9 $# ôMtΡ%x. öΝ çλ m; àM≈ ¨Ζy_

Ä ÷ρyŠ ö�Ï& ø9 $# »ωâ“ çΡ ∩⊇⊃∠∪ ⟨ “(But) verily, as for those who attain to faith (i.e., belief in Allah Most High

has entered into their hearts and so they truly fear Him and truly love Him

and, as a consequence, they part from those whom He hates, and love those

whom He loves) and whose conduct is righteous – (let them have the

assurance that) the gardens of paradise will be there to welcome them;”

Sūrah al-Kahf ends, as it began, with a powerful message of hope

for those believers whose conduct is righteous. Since they would have



228

to weather the greatest and most evil storm ever, their reward would

be the highest heaven of all – Jannatul Firdaus!

Verse 108

tÏ$ Í#≈yz $pκ�Ïù Ÿω tβθäó ö7tƒ $ pκ ÷] tã Zω uθÏm ∩⊇⊃∇∪ ⟨ “Therein will they abide forever, (and) never will they desire any change

therefrom.”

Their reward would be not only permanent, but also one in which they

would be entirely satisfied, and hence, that they would never seek to

change.

Verse 109

≅ è% öθ©9 tβ%x. ã�ós t7ø9 $# #YŠ# y‰ ÏΒ ÏM≈yϑÏ=s3 Ïj9 ’ Ïn1 u‘ y‰Ï& uΖs9 ã�ós t6 ø9 $# Ÿ≅ ö7s% βr& y‰ x&Ζs? àM≈yϑÏ=x. ’ Ïn1 u‘ öθs9 uρ $ uΖ÷∞Å_ Ï& Í#÷WÏϑÎ/ # YŠ y‰ tΒ ∩⊇⊃∪ ⟨

“Say: (Th is is the word of Allah Most High, and the words of my Lord-God

are such that) if the ocean (of water) were to become ink, and even if you

were to add ocean upon ocean to the first one (know that) they would all be

exhausted ere the words of my Lord-God can ever be exhausted.”

Hence people make a terrible mistake when they reject the

Qur’ān and the Prophet and make fun of them, or neglect the guidance

which comes from them. It is from the Qur’ān and from the blessed

Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that mankind can acquire knowledge



229

that comes directly from Allah Most High. Knowledge of the external

world is also important since it is Allah Most High Who created the

external world. But knowledge that Allah communicates internally to

His servants is far more important. It is also inexhaustible.

Verse 110

ö≅ è% !$ yϑ‾ΡÎ) O$ tΡr& Ö� |³o0 ö/ ä3 è=÷WÏiΒ # yrθãƒ ¥’ n<Î) !$yϑ‾Ρr& öΝ ä3ßγ≈ s9 Î) ×µ≈ s9 Î)

Ó‰ Ïn uρ ( yϑsù tβ%x. (#θã_ ö�tƒ u !$ s) Ï9 Ïµ În/ u‘ ö≅ yϑ÷è u‹ù=sù Wξ uΚ tã

$ [s Ï=≈|¹ Ÿω uρ õ8Î� ô³ç„ Ïο yŠ$ t7Ïè Î/ ÿ Ïµ În/ u‘ # J‰ tn r& ∩⊇⊇⊃∪ ⟨ “Say (O Prophet): I am (not divine, not son of God, not any thing like that,

rather I am) a human being like all of you. (And say further O Prophet) it has

been revealed unto me that your God is (the) One (and Only) God. So

whoever looks forward (with hope and awe) to (happily and joyously)

meet ing his Lord-God (on Judgment Day), let him act righteously (i.e., let

him be righteous in conduct), and let him not ascribe unto anyone or anything

a share in the worship due to his Lord-God!”

The Sūrah began with a severe warning to those who declared

that Allah Most High had “begotten a son”. It described such an

utterance as kaburat kalimatan (a truly terrible thing) and kaziba (a

lie). The Sūrah ends by returning to the same theme of Shirk, but this

time in order to ensure that Prophet Muhammad’s message would

never be so corrupted.

The very substance of the truth that was conveyed by the last

Prophet was “your God is One God”. In its very last words Sūrah al-

Kahf urges those who wish to return to their Lord in a state pleasing to



230

Him to do two things. Firstly, they must be righteous in conduct, and

secondly, they must exercise the greatest care to abstain from the sin

of Shirk (in all its various manifestations).



231

APPENDIX 1

The Epistemological Importance of Dreams and Visions in Islam

The Qur’ān informs us that Allah Most High inflicts

(epistemological) punishment on the disbelievers by sealing their

‘hearts’, and their ‘hearing’, and by placing veils before their ‘eyes’

(Qur’ān, al-Baqara, 2:7). Such people consequently have ‘dead’

hearts and can ‘see’ with only their external eyes. They can acquire

knowledge only from observation and from what is known as

scientific enquiry. They are incapable of accessing knowledge

‘internally’ or ‘spiritually’ in the form internal insight or through true

(i.e., prophetic) ‘dreams’ and ‘visions’.

Dreams and visions belong to the realm of the human heart, and

give knowledge that allows us to probe into the very depths of human

nature and conduct. True (or prophetic) dreams and visions are divine

gifts to the heart, and they come only when the heart is sound, healthy,

innocent, and saturated with the substance of religion, i.e., faith (al-

Imān) in Allah Most High. Those who are spiritually alive can be

blessed with ‘true’ dreams and visions through which sacred

knowledge can be communicated. They can receive inner knowledge

of events that would occur in the future, and when the events do occur

they validate such visions. They can also receive warnings in dreams,

and when they have the good sense to heed such warnings they can

avert disasters.



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Other dreams, such as nightmares, represent attacks on the heart

that seek to mislead, deceive and corrupt the heart. Such dreams can

also function as a means through which the heart can be troubled,

tormented and thrown into a state of dysfunction.

Finally there are still other dreams that function either as

medicine for the heart, or are windows to the heart that allow us to see

our own hearts, and thus ourselves, – however much it may please or

dismay us to see ourselves as we truly are.

We live, today, in a world that is so filled with corruption and

godlessness that the overwhelming majority of mankind, including

many Muslims, cannot ‘see’ with their internal eye. Most people no

longer understand that the only time anyone can be certain of the

validity of what he claims to ‘see’ internally, is when he ‘sees’ true

dreams and visions! Indeed there are many so-called believers in

today’s strange world who are actually skeptical of knowledge that is

‘internally’ received and who show no interest in the quest for internal

vision.

The religious mind that harbors such skepticism is new to this

ummah (religious community) and has emerged as a consequence of

the impact of the secularization of thought and knowledge by today’s

dominant western materialist civilization. That secularism paved the

way for metaphysical materialism and for the epistemological attack

on internal spiritual knowledge, and eventually gave birth to a new

religion called humanism. It is based on the scientific method and

rationalism, and is distinctly uncomfortable with all that relates to

transcendental experience. The true dream is most certainly a

transcendental experience!



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It is by design, and not by accident, that the modern godless age

has relegated the phenomenon of true (oe prophetic) dreams to the

obscurity of an academic and intellectual museum. This is because the

true dream cannot be explained using the western epistemology that

programs mankind to be skeptical of the validity of knowledge from

any source that transcends scientific observation. The diabolically

cunning western method is to seek a natural (scientific) explanation

for religious experiences such as ‘true’ dreams.

The phenomenon of true dreams has presented the Muslim, on

the other hand, with a heaven-sent opportunity for demonstrating the

validity of Islam’s epistemology and consequent spiritual

interpretation of reality, the universe and human nature. Yet, apart

from the rare, authentic and erudite Sufi master, of the likes of Dr.

Muhammad Iqbal, Muslim scholars living in this modern age of the

ascendancy of the West have not produced, from an Islamic

psychological perspective, any theoretical work on the phenomenon of

dreams. Work is being done by scholars trained in western psychology

(i.e., psychology as a discipline which was developed by western

secular civilization), but because they are operating in a completely

secular scientific framework they cannot comprehend the nature of

this phenomenon.

We wish to pose the question: Why has this great opportunity for

using true dreams as a means of demolishing the western

epistemology been missed by Islamic scholarship and by the so-called

great contemporary Islamic reform movements? Iqbal has observed

that religious thought in Islam has been practically stationary during

the last five hundred years (Muhammad Iqbal: ‘Reconstruction of



234

Relig ious Thought in Islam’, Lahore. Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986, p.

6).

This is a statement that should truly alarm Muslims and jolt their

minds into enquiring into the cause of this intellectual lethargy in our

religious thought. Our view is that a scientific, modernist and

‘Protestant’ version of Islam emerged as a consequence of the

intellectual impact of the western colonial rule over Muslims. This

modernist Islam was the child of the very western epistemology that

invalidated knowledge from any source beyond scientific observation.

This Islam that was shorn of its spiritual heart emerged in Saudi

Arabia in the form of the Wahhabi movement and proceeded to launch

a fierce and relentless attack on Sufism. In the process it unwittingly

‘threw out the baby with the bath-water’.

Now we recognize that Sufism had lost its intellectual dynamism

and creativity and, like everything else in Islamic civilization, was in a

state of drift. Iqbal took note of that failure in a scathing passage in

the famous work from which we have been quoting:

“The technique of medieval mysticism by which relig ious life, in its higher

manifestations, developed itself both in the East and in the West, has now

practically failed. And in the Muslim East it has, perhaps, done far greater

havoc than anywhere else. Far from reintegrating the forces of the average

man’s inner life, and thus preparing him fo r participation in the march of

history, it has taught him a false renunciation and made him perfect ly

contented with his ignorance and spiritual thraldom.”

(Iqbal, Op. Cit. p. 148-9)



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The enlightened student of Iqbal, Maulana Dr. F. R. Ansari, also

noted the degeneration in Sufism, but warned against ‘throwing away

the baby with the bath-water’:

“With the awful degeneration of Muslim society, due to certain historical

factors well-known to students of Islamic history, the understanding as well

as the practice of Tasawwuf also has degenerated in more d imensions than

one. Also its name has been misused for certain wrong notions and ideas in

certain quarters. In spite of that, however, the denial of the Islamic relig ious

quest (i.e., Tasawwuf) of its rightful place amounts to the very negation of

Islam. Also, interpreting Tasawwuf in terms of mysticism pro jected by other

religions is a flagrant violation of Truth.”

(Ansari: The Quranic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society.

World Federation of Islamic Missions. Karachi. Vol. 1. p. 152 fn )

Sufism suffered the fate of being hijacked by professional

opportunists who introduced devient practices through which they

established veritable spiritual serfdoms. But in the process of waging a

Don Quixoté struggle to purge Islamic beliefs and practices of all that

was perceived as Sufi bid’ah (innovations), the modernist so-called

revivalist Islamic movement acted as a Trojan horse within the body

of Islam allowing the western epistemology to penetrate Islamic

thought. The ‘baby’ was thrown out with the ‘bath-water’! A

secularized sanitized version of Islam was then declared to be Islamic

revivalism. The so-called great Islamic reform movements proceeded

to establish centers of learning and to produce large numbers of

scholars who were intellectually incapable of responding to the

profoundly dangerous epistemological attack on Islamic scholarship

and thought, since they were themselves trapped in western

epistemology. Worse than that, their zealotry and misguided attack on

even authentic Sufism resulted in such inner damage to their own



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spirituality that they themselves were now rendered incapable of ever

being blessed by Allah Most High with continuous true dreams and

visions.

But long before the modern materialist West impacted on

religious thought by secularizing it, the world of Islam had

experienced the same phenomenon in the emergence of the

Mu’atazilite school of religious thought. Iqbal described that event:

“The Mu’atazilah, conceiving religion merely as a body of religious doctrines

and ignoring it as a v ital fact, took no notice of non-conceptual modes of

approaching Reality and reduced relig ion to a mere system of logical

concepts ending in a purely negative attitude. They failed to see that in the

domain of knowledge - scientific or religious - complete independence of

thought from concrete experience is not possible.” (Iqbal is here referring to

religious experience, among other things, and religious experience includes

true dreams).

(Iqbal, op. cit. p. 4)

It was the genius of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal that he was able to

distinguish authentic Sufism from its deviations. It was his genius that

he succeeded in articulating the Sufi epistemology in a manner which

demolished the considerable objections of many of the secularly-

educated scientific modernists in the modern West as well as in the

Muslim world. Had Dr. Muhammad Iqbal studied Islam at Al-Azhar

University in Egypt or at the Deoband or other Islamic seminaries in

India, he would never have emerged as the great scholar and sage that

he was. And the reason for this was not limited to his own natural

talent but also to the epistemology which he inherited from authentic

Sufism, an epistemology which modernist Islam could never deliver.



237

Secular Europe’s scientific method differed from the scientific

method that reached Europe from Muslim Spain. What

Judeo-Christian secular Europe did was to establish a new dogmatic

religion which claimed only that which could be observed could be the

subject of a scientific enquiry. The new dogmatic religion thus

fostered habits of concrete thought that negated the very substance and

life-blood of religion, i.e., belief in al-Ghaib or the unseen world, and

direct experience of that unseen world in the miracle of the Qur’ān.

Europe proceeded to establish a basic dogma, i.e., the audacious

claim that only ‘scientific’ knowledge was ‘real’ knowledge, while all

else were akin to fairy-tales. And so, the modern religious mind in

Europe slowly closed its doors to ‘religious experience’ and to the

study of such phenomena. The true dream is a religious experience.

William James, however, has done an extremely useful service to

religious thought in producing his classical work, ‘Varieties of

Religious Experience’, in which the true dream has pride of place.

What possible scientific method could there be for examining the

phenomenon of a true dream? Here, for example, is what a true dream

can be: Last night I dreamt that my neighbor’s house was on fire. This

morning it was burnt down.

Islam’s explanation of a true dream is events exist in an unseen

world before they occur in this world. And so the fire existed in an

unseen world from whence the information was transmitted by angels

in a dream before the fire actually occurred in this world.

This experience of a true dream cannot possibly be the subject of

a scientific enquiry because secular western psychology, operating

with the new scientific method, cannot transcend observable



238

phenomena. Freud was the perfected product of the new scientific

thinking and he consequently made a futile effort to locate a natural

explanation for the phenomenon of true dreams.

It is precisely because of the great danger posed by the new

western epistemology and the scientific religion which emerges from

that epistemology that Iqbal began his great work, ‘The

Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam’ with two very

powerfully written chapters on ‘Knowledge and Religious Experience’

and ‘The Philosophical Test of the Revelations of Religious

Experience’. He followed them later with another chapter entitled: ‘Is

Religion Possible?’

Iqbal made a valiant effort to respond to the challenge posed by

modernist Islam in its rejection of religious experience as a source of

knowledge. He began his work by addressing the subject in the

Preface of the book itself. We quote him at length so that those who

may be unfamiliar with his thought, or hitherto incapable of

understanding him, may now be encouraged to study his great work:

“The Qur’ān is a book which emphasizes ‘deed’ rather than ‘idea’. There

are, however, men to whom it is not possible organically to assimilate an

alien universe by re-living, as a vital process, that special type of inner

experience on which relig ious faith ultimately rests. Moreover, modern man,

by developing habits of concrete thought - habits which Islam itself fostered

at least in the earlier stages of its cultural career - has rendered himself less

capable of that experience which he further suspects because of its liability to

illusion. The more genuine schools of Sufism have, no doubt, done good

work in shaping and directing the evolution of religious experience in Islam;

but their latter-day representatives, owing to their ignorance of the modern

mind, have become absolutely incapable of receiv ing any fresh inspiration

from modern thought and experience. They are perpetuating methods which



239

were created for generations possessing a cultural outlook differing, in many

important respects, from our own. ‘Your creation and your resurrection,’

says the Qur’ān, ‘are like the creation and resurrection of a single soul.’ A

liv ing experience of the kind of biological unity embodied in this verse

requires today a method physiologically less violent and psychologically

more suitable to a concrete type of mind. In the absence of such a method the

demand for a scientific form of relig ious knowledge is only natural.”

(Muhammad Iqbal: ‘Reconstruction of Relig ious Thought in

Islam’, Lahore, Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986. p. v)

If ever there was a impregnable defense of the Sufi

epistemology articulated in the idiom of modern thought, Iqbal

accomplished it. The tragedy since 1938, when Iqbal’s work was

published, is that contemporary Islamic scholarship which has

emerged from the scientific ‘Protestant’ version of Islam has been

intellectually incapable of even understanding these three chapters of

Iqbal’s great work.

Iqbal took up the challenge and argued the case for the

epistemological validity of ‘intuitive’ knowledge and experience. He

declared:

“ . . . Nor is there any reason to suppose that thought and intuition are

essentially opposed to each other. They spring up from the same root and

complement each other. The one grasps Reality p iecemeal, the other grasps

it in its wholeness. The one fixes its gaze on the eternal, the other on the

temporal aspect of reality. The one is present enjoyment of the whole of

Reality; the other aims at traversing the whole by slowly specifying and

closing up the various regions of the whole for exclusive observation. Both

are in need of each other for mutual rejuvenation. Both seek visions of the

same Reality which reveals itself to them in accordance with their function in



240

life. In fact, intuition, as Bergson rightly says, is only a higher kind of

intellect.”

(Muhammad Iqbal: ‘Reconstruction of Religious

Thought in Islam’, Lahore, Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986. p. 2)

It should also be a matter of great significance to our skeptical

readers that the Qur’ān itself has chosen to commence its guidance to

humanity by insisting, at the very beginning, (Qur’ān, al-Baqarah,

2:1) that religious faith is essentially constructed on belief in that

which lies beyond our normal observation, - i.e., beyond the world of

concrete thought (al-ghaib)! True dreams belong to that world.

Indeed the most profound experience in the life of the Prophet

Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was a nocturnal journey (not a

dream) into that unseen world, - a journey on which he was taken in

order that he might have direct experience of the transcendental world.

Thus the Qur’ān declares:

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“He surely saw the greatest of the Signs of his Lord.”

(Qur’ān: al-Najm:- 53:18)

Knowledge must be de-secularized if religious Truth is to be

allowed to play the role which only Truth can play. That role is one of

restoring human society to the beliefs and values of authentic religion

which alone can anchor mankind in a life of peace, happiness,

fulfillment and success.

In order for knowledge to be desecularized we need to

demonstrate the existence in this world of knowledge that has come



241

from al-Ghaib, i.e., an unseen world and a source which thus

transcends normal experience. Only when knowledge has been

desecularized can the modern mind apply itself seriously to restoring

the life of the sacred. The late outstanding Islamic scholar, Ismail

Faruqi who (like Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal, Pakistan’s President

Ziaul Haq, Panama’s President Omar Torrejo, Ecuador’s Jamie

Roldos, Chile’s Salvador Allende, etc.) fell to an act of terrorism long

before those terrorists launched their own so-called ‘war on terror’,

attempted to desecularize knowledge. Unfortunately he coined the

term ‘Islamization of Knowledge’ and in doing so the essential goal of

desecularizing knowledge was rendered obscure to those who

inherited his noble mission in the cause of Truth.

A serious study on the phenomenon of dreams by an erudite

Muslim psychologist can make a significant contribution towards

de-secularizing knowledge and redirecting thought to the recognition

of the primacy of the sacred, and to the understanding of the essential

harmony in the relationship between ‘material’ form and ‘spiritual’

substance in the external universe and the human world. Further

Islamic scholarship of the quality and caliber of Dr. Muhammad Iqbal

is required for undertaking a study on the metaphysics of the true

dream.

sÚrah al-kahf and the modern age

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